LANDIKOTAL: Pakistani authorities have set a three-day deadline for the Afghan families living alongside the Pak-Afghan border in Torkham to leave Pakistan and go back to Afghanistan, official sources said on Thursday.
The local administration has issued an official notice to the Afghan families, asking them to vacate their homes situated in the border town. The Afghans not following the instruction would be forcibly expelled and their homes would be demolished.
When contacted, Assistant Political Agent Rahimullah Khan Mahsud said that many Afghan families were residing near Torkham in Pakistan since the Russian invasion of Afghanistan. He said that due to security reasons, it was decided at the government level to conduct operations in various areas of the Pak-Afghan border and to expel foreigners.
The official said that in the near future, they would also ask the Afghan families living in other parts of Landikotal to leave for their country. He said that as per directions from the high-ups, they would take every step to help promote peace and security in Pakistan.
About 200 Afghan families had migrated to Pakistan when Russia occupied Afghanistan. Most of them have been residing in the Pakistani border area of Bacha Mina. A state-run school had also been constructed in Bacha Mina for the Afghan children in the early 1980s. http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/111205-Afghans-asked-to-leave-Torkham-area-within-three-days
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