Afghans rush back home as Pak's repatriation deadline looms

ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Afghans are now rushing to Afghanistan, with only one day remaining until the October 31 deadline for the repatriation process, The Express Tribune newspaper reported.

Tuesday marks the final day for illegal foreign nationals to leave the country, and official sources have confirmed that the government will stick to its plan, deciding against extending the deadline for voluntary repatriation.

The deadline applies to all illegal foreign nationals, including Afghan refugees, who are expected to return to their respective countries. In order to ensure compliance, law enforcement agencies have completed the geo-fencing and geo-mapping of illegal residents, according to The Express Tribune.

Once the deadline has passed, action will be taken against those found to be residing in the country illegally, including the confiscation of all their movable and immovable assets. As many as 86,000 undocumented Afghan nationals have so far returned to their country while one hundred and forty-nine families returned to Afghanistan in one hundred and seventy-four trucks during the last twenty-four hours.

An ethnic Hazara, Sadiq fled Afghanistan last year because he was attacked and beaten by members of the Taliban regime.

Now, the 25-year-old faces expulsion from Pakistan and he fears a return to his home country could amount to a death sentence, according to Dawn. He said, "Going to Kabul would be like going to a graveyard to be buried."

He recalled how the Taliban had stormed his house in the Afghan capital and abducted him to find out the location of other family members who had worked for the previous government. "I fear they will ... kill me this time for running away. They have their eyes on me," he said.

Sadiq, who lives in Karachi with his family, said he had made no preparations to leave as he could see no future in Afghanistan.

Many Afghans fear deportation to their native land, where human rights are in a state of collapse, but the risks are particularly high for Hazaras like Sadiq, according to Dawn. The predominantly Shia community has faced decades of persecution by the Taliban.

"The genocide of Hazaras in Afghanistan is still going on. The Taliban are trying to take the Hazara areas in Afghanistan under various pretexts," said Amir, a Hazara in Kabul who declined to give his full name.

Hazara families have been evicted from their homes and farms by the Taliban, in many cases with only a few days' notice and without any chance to prove their legal claims, residents and rights campaigners said.