Pakistan Says More Than 2.8 Million Afghans Have Been Deported

DID Press: Pakistani officials say a total of 2,807,250 Afghan nationals who were residing in the country illegally have so far been returned to Afghanistan.

According to authorities in Punjab province, 143,474 of those individuals were deported from the province. The process of identifying and deporting Afghan migrants without valid residency documents is continuing.

Punjab’s Foreigners Security Directorate has launched a large-scale operation to identify and repatriate Afghans without legal residency documents, following an order by provincial Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz.

The directorate said 153 Afghan nationals are currently being held at 39 centres across Punjab. Once registration and documentation procedures are completed, they will be handed over to Afghan authorities through the Torkham border crossing.

As part of the campaign, more than 400,000 inspection operations have been conducted in residential areas and markets across the province. Authorities have also filed cases against 803 people accused of renting properties to Afghan nationals without legal residency status.

A spokesperson for Punjab’s Home Department said that, under Pakistan’s government policy, Afghan nationals residing in the country without valid visas are considered to be staying illegally. The spokesperson urged residents to report cases of illegal residency, identity-document forgery and suspicious activities through the emergency number 15.

The spokesperson added that the identities of people providing information would remain confidential.

Punjab officials stressed that the operation specifically targets foreign nationals without valid residency documents and that their repatriation is continuing under the supervision of the Foreigners Security Directorate.