ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will consider a plan to expel hundreds of thousands more Afghans who have been living in the country for years, the foreign ministry said Thursday, the latest in a monthslong government clampdown on undocumented migrants.
The plan is still in the works, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told reporters — and the government may ultimately reject it.
It would mark the “second phase” of the “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” and it would involve persons who had been given identification documents known as “Afghan citizen cards” to legalize their stay in Pakistan for a limited time.
“At this stage, I do not have a date to share with you,” she said at a weekly news briefing in the capital, Islamabad, adding that an announcement about the action would be made “at an appropriate time.”
Pakistan’s crackdown on undocumented migrants has drawn sweeping criticism from the United Nations, aid agencies and human rights groups.
Since the deportations started, an estimated 600,000 Afghans have gone back to Afghanistan. After forcing thousands back daily, the deportations slowed down and appeared to halt in recent months.
On Wednesday, following a visit by the UN refugee agency chief, Filippo Grandi, Islamabad announced it has extended the stay of 1.45 million Afghan refugees residing in the country.
During his visit, Grandi welcomed what he described as the Pakistan government ‘s suspension of the deportations.
However, Baloch denied that was the case and said there has been no suspension in the anti-migrant crackdown that targets those without valid papers. The deportations only involve those in Pakistan illegally — and they are being carried out in a “humane manner,” Baloch said.
She insisted Afghan refugees living here need not worry as their stay has now been expended.
Amnesty International said Thursday it welcomed Islamabad’s decision to extend one-year stays. Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, the group’s regional researcher for South Asia, urged Pakistan to “extend this lifeline to all Afghan refugees in Pakistan.”
She also urged Pakistan to formally suspend the “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” and top all forcible returns of Afghans in the country.
Pakistan has long hosted an estimated 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation of their country. More than half a million others escaped Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021, with thousands waiting in Pakistan for resettlement in the United States and elsewhere.
Baloch also urged the international community to expedite the process for the relocation of thousands of Afghans who fled the Taliban takeover, most of who are still in Pakistan, she said.
These Afghans have been desperately waiting for their visa applications to be processed so they could leave for the United States, Canada, United Kington, Germany, Australia, Italy and several other countries.
The delay in the resettlement has left these Afghans in a vulnerable position, contending with economic hardship and lack of access to health, education and other services in Pakistan.
Baloch’s remarks appeared to catch Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation off guard.
Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesperson with the refugee ministry, said they had heard through official channels that the deportations have stopped. He said no Afghan refugees have been forcibly deported from Pakistan — whether they had proper papers or not — and that there were no reports of arrests in the neighboring country in the past 24 hours.
Haqqani appealed on the Islamabad government to give Afghans enough time to leave Pakistan in an orderly fashion and that there be no forced deportations.
“Our second request is for our Afghan brothers to return to their country voluntarily,” he said. “Now there is peace in the country ... the refugees should return to their country.”
Islamabad to consider expelling hundreds of thousands more Afghans in a continued clampdown
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Islamabad to consider expelling hundreds of thousands more Afghans in a continued clampdown
- Pakistan’s crackdown on undocumented migrants has drawn sweeping criticism from the United Nations, aid agencies and rights groups
- Since the deportations started, an estimated 600,000 Afghans have gone back to Afghanistan, with deportations appearing to halt recently
Pakistan’s national air carrier resumes Faisalabad-Jeddah flight to facilitate Umrah pilgrims
- Saudi destinations of Jeddah and Madinah have always been lucrative for the Pakistani airline
- Pakistan International Airlines will operate direct flights between the two cities twice a week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s national air carrier has resumed two-way direct flights from Faisalabad in the country’s eastern Punjab province to Saudi Arabia’s port city of Jeddah, an official statement said on Friday, with an aim to facilitate Umrah pilgrims.
The Saudi destinations of Jeddah and Madinah have always been lucrative for Pakistan International Airlines (PIA), a loss-making state-owned entity that the government is trying to privatize.
These routes are particularly profitable due to the high volume of passengers traveling for religious purposes, such as Umrah and Hajj pilgrimages.
Jeddah is located close to Makkah, and the consistent demand for flights to the two holy cities of Islam ensures a steady stream of revenue for the airline, making them some of the most critical routes in terms of profitability and passenger load.
“PIA started two-way flights from Faisalabad to Jeddah,” the airline announced in a statement. “With the resumption of these flights, special facilities will be available, especially to Umrah pilgrims.”
PIA reduced its flight operations during the COVID-19 pandemic. It will operate these flights between Pakistan and Saudi Arabia twice a week.
The initiative was welcomed by the business community in Faisalabad, a major textile hub of the country.
PIA’s Chief Commercial Officer Nausherwan Adil bid goodbye to at least 170 Umrah pilgrims as the first flight PK763 left Faisalabad Airport for Saudi Arabia.
Adil said PIA always tried to provide direct travel facilities to its passengers, adding the resumption of flights would benefit overseas Pakistanis residing in the kingdom for employment purposes.
Pakistan to sign trade MoU with Beijing after offering free visas to Chinese from Aug. 14
- The MoU will help enhance smartphone, new energy automobile manufacturing in the country
- Pakistan is striving to set up special economic zones to promote industrial cooperation with China
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet on Friday approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with China on trade promotion and cooperation after the government announced free visas for Chinese nationals from August 14.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif went to China on a five-day official visit earlier this year in June where he interacted with investors and representatives of big businesses, asking them to branch out and set up their facilities in Pakistan.
The two countries have already been collaborating under the umbrella of the multibillion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), a collection of infrastructure and energy projects, with an aim to enhance economic growth and regional connectivity.
They now plan to establish special economic zones and promote bilateral industrial cooperation.
“The cabinet has approved the signing of a memorandum of understanding on trade promotion and cooperation between the governments of Pakistan and China, as recommended by the commerce ministry,” said an official statement issued after the meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
“Under the MoU, cooperation between Pakistan and China will be enhanced in various sectors, particularly in the manufacturing of smartphones, new energy automobiles, textiles, agriculture and agricultural product processing, pharmaceuticals and information technology industries,” it added.
Pakistan has also taken steps to ease the movement of Chinese nationals to the country, with Radio Pakistan reporting a day earlier the prime minister had announced “exempting Chinese citizens from visa fee with effect from 14th of this month.”
The report said Sharif also highlighted his interest in joint ventures among the firms based in the two countries and hoped Chinese firms would relocate to Pakistan.
Pakistan approves financial compensation for families of ‘missing persons’ after decade-long effort
- Government vows to pay Rs5 million to such families since ‘the state is like a mother’ and must extend such relief
- Rights activists have frequently raised the issue of enforced disappearances, mostly targeting political workers
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Friday approved a financial package of Rs5 million ($17,925) for each family of a “missing person,” pointing out that a commission had been working on the issue for almost a decade.
Hundreds of political workers, rights activists and professionals have gone missing in Pakistan over the years, particularly in the northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the southwestern Balochistan provinces, where militants have waged a war against the state for long.
Families say people picked up by security forces often disappear for years, and are sometimes found dead, with no official explanation. Pakistani security agencies have been blamed in many cases, though they have always denied involvement in such disappearances.
“The cabinet today has approved an aid package of five million rupees for each family of missing persons,” Federal Law Minister Azam Nazeer Tarar told the media in Islamabad after the cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
The development comes just hours after a Baloch rights group signed an agreement with the local authorities in Gwadar to call off its sit-in that began last Sunday.
The Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) staged the protest demonstration to highlight the alleged human rights abuses, extra-judicial killings and enforced disappearances of Baloch nationals in the province.
“Terrorism engulfed Pakistan after the Afghan war that created a number of internal challenges including the issue of missing persons,” the minister continued, adding a commission had been formed that worked for nearly a decade to address the problem.
He highlighted “positive cooperation” from the country’s powerful intelligence agencies to resolve the issue.
“A report has been compiled after consultations with the state institutions and intelligence agencies,” he said. “The state is like a mother, so a relief is being extended to the victims as per this principle.”
The law minister informed that “only 23 percent of missing persons cases are pending” as a total of 10,200 cases were brought before the commission working on the issue and 8,000 of them had already been resolved.
“The government is committed to resolving all cases of the missing persons by utilizing all available resources,” he added.
Two policemen killed as judges’ convoy attacked by militants in northwestern Pakistan
- Both judges remain safe in the shooting incident at a junction between Tank and Dera Ismail Khan
- A senior police official in the area says the militants primarily wanted to target the police personnel
PESHAWAR: At least two policemen were killed on Friday when a convoy of local judges came under attack in northwestern Pakistan, a police official confirmed, as the country grapples with a surge in militant attacks, particularly in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan has faced deadly attacks by the banned militant conglomerate Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) since an uneasy truce between them collapsed in November 2022.
The network, whose leadership is reportedly based in neighboring Afghanistan, has targeted civilians and security forces with impunity since its inception in 2007, prompting the military to launch multiple operations to dislodge its fighters from the country’s northwestern tribal region.
This is not the first time the lives of district judges have been endangered by militants operating in KP. Last April, Judge Shakirullah Marwat was abducted by unidentified kidnappers near a village at the junction of Tank and Dera Ismail (DI) Khan districts but was recovered after a few days.
“Two policemen have been killed who were part of the judges’ security squad,” District Police Officer Abdul Salam Khalid told Arab News on Friday. “The attack on the convoy occurred at the junction of Tank and DI Khan.”
The police official said two judges were traveling in separate cars from Dera Ismail Khan to South Waziristan when their convoy was ambushed by unidentified militants. He added more details related to the incident would be shared after the investigation was completed.
Meanwhile, Regional Police Officer Nasir Mehmood said the attack was not aimed at the judges but was instead carried out to target the police personnel.
“Attacks on police and law enforcement agencies occur on and off in the region,” he added.
Reacting to the attack, KP Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur described the targeting of judges and police as a “sad and condemnable” act, directing the authorities to submit a detailed report on the incident.
The province has witnessed a major increase in militant violence, with two policemen and a civilian killed this week in an attack on a police checkpoint in Khyber district.
Earlier in July, 10 soldiers and five civilians lost their lives in two separate attacks in the Bannu and Dera Ismail Khan districts of KP.
In the first attack, the army reported that a group of 10 militants attempted to enter the cantonment in Bannu in the early hours of July 15, while in the second attack, militants opened fire on rural health center staff.
In February, 10 policemen were killed and six others injured in an attack on the Chodwan police station in Dera Ismail Khan, a district that remains one of the most dangerous parts of KP due to frequent militant attacks.
Pakistan has blamed the recent surge in militant violence on the Taliban administration in Afghanistan, which it says facilitates groups like the TTP. Kabul denies allowing its territory to be used by armed militants and maintains that Pakistan’s security issues are a domestic matter.
US says working to prevent Afghanistan from becoming militant threat for countries like Pakistan
- US official says Washington is cooperating with partners, including those in the region, to deal with the issue
- The UN brought out a report this week, saying TTP and Daesh were launching cross-border attacks in Pakistan
ISLAMABAD: The United States said on Thursday it was working to prevent Afghanistan from turning into a hub of militant violence targeting its interests or posing a threat to other states like Pakistan, following a recent United Nations report expressing concerns over the rise of armed groups under the Taliban administration in Kabul.
Pakistan has witnessed a surge in militant attacks since November 2022, when a fragile truce between its government and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) broke down. Pakistani officials blamed the interim Afghan Taliban government for facilitating the group and urged it to take action against the armed militants, though Kabul rejected Islamabad’s claims.
The UN report, released this week, raised similar concerns about groups like TTP and Daesh, noting that they were launching cross-border attacks, particularly in Pakistan.
Asked about its findings and the claim that these groups had over 6,000 fighters attacking Pakistani soldiers and undermining regional peace, US State Department’s Principal Deputy Spokesperson Vedant Patel highlighted his country’s counterterrorism efforts.
“We’re working to ensure that Afghanistan never serves as a launching pad for terrorist attacks against the United States or our allies,” he said during a media briefing. “We are taking a whole-of-government approach to our Afghanistan counterterrorism efforts.”
“We are cooperating with partners and allies, including in the immediate region,” he continued. “And we’re working vigilantly to prevent the re-emergence of external threats from Afghanistan, including by working with partners to counteract terrorist recruitment efforts as well.”
Patel agreed with the findings of the UN report, saying that Daesh had the “ambition and capacity to launch international terrorist attacks.”
Afghanistan was widely viewed as a hub of transnational militant groups, particularly during the years leading up to the US invasion in 2001 and throughout the subsequent two decades.
US forces withdrew from Afghanistan in August 2021 after securing an agreement with the Taliban in February 2020, which stipulated that the war-torn country would no longer be used as a militant basecamp.
In recent months, Washington has raised concerns about militant presence in Afghanistan, expressing its willingness to assist Pakistan with counterterrorism efforts.
