In a bid to maintain the law and order situation and to combat terrorist activities in Peshawar, the city administration has decided to repatriate the Afghan nationals residing illegally in the city, as well as those who lack proper registration documents.
“All illegal Afghan nationals living in Peshawar must go back to their homeland by May 25th, otherwise proper action will be taken against them,” said Peshawar District Coordination Officer (DCO) Siraj Ahmad Khan during a press conference on Wednesday.
Flanked by Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Zaheer Ul Islam, the DCO said the purpose of such a decision was to reestablish peace in the city.
He added that proper cases under the Foreign Act will be registered against the Afghans nationals residing illegally in the city, as well as those found to be in possession of fake or illegally secured National Identity cards.
The DCO said the operation is currently limited to Peshawar and that similar action will be taken against Afghan nationals living in other areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He stated that the authorities will give due respect to all the Afghans in possession of UNHCR or Afghan Refugees Commissioner registration cards.
The United Nation High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) had already fixed December 31st as the deadline for all the registered Afghan refugees to go back to their homeland.
The Commissioner for Afghan Refugees said 1.7 million Afghan nationals are residing in Pakistan, out of which 0.8 million are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He added that there are 42 camps for Afghan refugees throughout the country and that 29 of these are located in scattered parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Siraj Ahmad Khan said 0.4 million Afghans are residing illegally in Peshawar.
The DCO said special committees will be established for identifying the illegal refugees. In response to a question, the DCO said, “The action will be taken against the Afghan nationals according to the capacity of the police and the vehicles earmarked for deporting the illegal residents.”
The committees, he added, will help the police in preparing the lists of the Afghan nationals.
Regarding re-entry or return of the repatriated Afghan nationals, the DCO said the matter had been discussed with the political administration of the FATA agencies.
He added that a plan had been evolved to discourage the return of the repatriated Afghan refugees.
In response to a question, Siraj Ahmad said rapid urbanisation is in progress and that the population of Peshawar now ranges between 3.5 and 3.6 million.
He stated that the officials will carry out a detailed survey of all the territories, bazaars and madrasas to isolate the illegally residing Afghan nationals.
He said the lists of these individuals will be provided to the provincial government, which will take the final decision.
He added that the NICs of the Afghan nationals will also be verified against the NADRA database.
Answering a question, the DCO made it clear that the government is determined to respect all commitments and charters made with the UN and other foreign countries and that no one will be allowed to violate the existing rules and regulations.