report in Dawn, October 7th, 2023
ISLAMABAD: The government on Friday doubled down on its policy to evict all illegal immigrants — including around 1.7 million Afghan refugees — from the country, saying that the decision was in line with international practices.
Meanwhile, as law enforcement agencies continued their crackdown on people they call ‘illegal aliens’, a sizeable number of families have been crossing the border into Afghanistan over the past week.
“No country allows illegal people to live in their country whether it is Europe, whether it is countries in Asia, in our neighbourhood,” caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani, told Hong Kong’s Phoenix TV in an interview on the sidelines of a forum in Tibet.
“So, accordingly this is in line with the international practice that we have taken this decision.”
Pakistan’s decision to ask illegal immigrants to leave by Oct 31 or face forcible expulsion has drawn criticism from within and without, with organisations such as UNHCR and Amnesty International calling on the government to rethink its plans. The Taliban government in Kabul has also experessed its reservations over the move.
“Whenever there was any problem, people would immigrate to Pakistan, take refuge in Pakistan,” Mr Jilani said during the interview.
“But now I think it has been more than 40 years, so the government of Pakistan has taken a decision,” he said, noting that the situation in Afghanistan had stabilised.
The caretaker foreign minister said Pakistan had been discussing the migrant issue with Afghanistan “for a very long time” and called on international humanitarian agencies to help with the process.
Separately, speaking to reporters on Friday evening, caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi called on all foreign nationals illegally residing in Punjab to depart voluntarily, saying that provincial authorities had collected initial data on foreign residents.
He was stern in his warning, saying that any foreigner found staying unlawfully in the province would not be permitted to remain, and stressed that illegal immigrants should leave Punjab of their own accord. In case they didn’t, he cautioned, a comprehensive crackdown would ensue.
However, the caretaker Punjab CM assured that no one would be abused in this process…….
https://www.dawn.com/news/1779767
- AF-PAK SCENE-COMMERCIAL GOODS STOPPED
Containers With Afghan Commercial Goods Stopped in Karachi:
By Habib Rahman Qooyash in TOLOnews Online, Oct 6, 2023 at 1:45 PM
The China-based association of importers and goods carriers of Afghans said that over one thousand containers of transit goods of Afghan traders have been stopped in Karachi port in Pakistan.
The head of the association said Pakistan — not considering the international laws — has incurred millions of dollars of loss on Afghan traders.
“Most of the imported goods have been prevented through Pakistan’s transit routes, they are clothes, fabrics, tires, and constructional materials,” said Khan Agha Gulzad, head of the China-based association of importers and goods carriers of Afghans.
Meanwhile, several Afghan traders urged the caretaker Afghan government to discuss the problems of traders in Karachi port through diplomatic channels with Pakistan.
“20 to 25 containers of mine have been stopped in Karachi port which have been loaded from Dubai and China,” said Ahmad Zia Nik Andesh, an Afghan businessman.
“Karachi port is the easiest and cheapest way for our businesspeople. Thus, the traders are most interested in carrying their goods through this port. There are also other alternate ways such as Uzbekistan but carrying goods takes much time via this way,” said Zalmai Sarwari, another businessman.
As conflicts rise between Kabul and Islamabad, Afghan traders say that Pakistan exerts deliberate pressures on Afghanistan’s private sector in Karachi port and Torkham crossing.
The Af-Pak Chamber of Commerce has also said recent transit limitations by Pakistan are in contradiction with international principles.
https://tolonews.com/business-185415
