ISLAMABAD: The federal government has sought details from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on the issue of evacuation of Afghans from Pakistan.
According to media reports, the Interior Ministry has sought details from the KP government regarding Afghans residing in the province.
According to the Interior Ministry, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has been asked to provide details about the number of Afghans residing in KP.
The centre also asked the provincial government that how many Afghans have been sent back from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa so far? Interior Ministry sources say that a report on the steps taken to evacuate Afghans has also been sought.
Details have also been sought regarding the number of Afghans and their latest status.
It is pertinent to mention here that Afghan refugees, both documented and undocumented, residing in Pakistan have only seven days left to Pakistan.
From March 31 onward, all refugees including those carrying Proof of Registration (POR) cards and Afghan citizen cards will also be considered illegal. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has also been asked for records of Afghan students.
Those Afghans who have Afghan citizen cards will also be sent back by March 31.
Pakistan saw the largest influx of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979. Hundreds of thousands fled war and conflicts. Many registered as refugees with the government and UN agencies. Hundreds of thousands fled Afghanistan and entered Pakistan after the Taliban seized power in Kabul in August 2021.
The expulsion plan worsens ties between the two neighbors. Recent border clashes have added to tensions. Pakistan claims militants train in Afghanistan and plan attacks inside its borders.
Meanwhile, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has completed all preparations for an operation against Afghan refugees in the province.
The Home Department said that the operation to repatriate Afghan nationals to their home country will begin after March 31.
According to media reports, the authorities have completed geo-printing of Afghan refugees in various districts. The provincial capital Peshawar, home to the largest number of registered and unregistered refugees, is a key focus of the operation.
An estimated 1.4 million Afghan refugees- either holding Afghan Citizen Cards or Proof of Registration (POR) cards are residing in Pakistan, mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Special deportation centres would be established in the country’s four provinces: Punjab, Balochistan, Sindh and Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.
Official records show 709,278 Afghan refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hold Proof of Registration (POR) cards. They make up 52% of all POR cardholders in the country. The province has 43 Afghan refugee camps, housing 344,908 refugees. Another 307,647 Afghans in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hold Afghan Citizen Cards.
Since 2013, 465,000 Afghan refugees have returned through Torkham, said Abid Majeed, Additional Chief Secretary of the Home Department.
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According to the Home Department, the number of unregistered Afghan nationals is more than one lakh.
