By Imtiaz Ali in Dawn, October 10th, 2023
KARACHI: While a crackdown on illegal immigrants across the country is underway, police and allied agencies have so far picked up over 1,700 Afghan nationals for living in Karachi without any valid documents, it emerged on Monday.
The information about the number of held persons was shared by caretaker Home Minister retired Brigadier Haris Nawaz, who also declared that all illegal immigrants living in Sindh would soon be deported.
Also on Monday, the Sindh government detained the provincial president of the Pashtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM), Noorullah Tareen, under the Maintenance of Public Order (MPO) Ordinance for 30 days for “instigating public to disturb peace”. However, his party said Mr Tareen was raising voice against the arrests of Afghan refugees having valid documents.
Talking to the media at the office of DIG-West, the interim home minister said that the government was preparing a mechanism under which registered aliens would not be touched.
He said that different committees comprising SSPs, deputy commissioners concerned as well as representatives of all institutions were being formed to take a concerted action against illegal immigrants.
To a question, he said that the number of illegal Afghan immigrants held in Karachi stood at 1,700.
The minister said that illegal Afghan immigrants would be sent back to their home country in buses through the Chaman border crossing.
He promised that no action would be taken against any registered Afghan national.
About law and order situation in the metropolis, Mr Nawaz said that the government had adopted an extraordinary policing policy with a special focus on curbing street crimes…….
https://www.dawn.com/news/1780215/1700-illegal-afghan-immigrants-held-as-crackdown-continues
