The government of Baluchistan province in Pakistan has set targets for police to arrest and deport hundreds of thousands of Afghans who it says are in the country illegally, officials told Reuters on Thursday.
The measure is part of a nationwide crackdown following a sharp decline in the expulsion of Afghans living in Pakistan without legal permission.
Near the Chaman border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, local residents have been staging protests against new travel visa requirements aimed at reducing illegal immigration, disrupting traffic in the area.
Some of those targeted for deportation had apparently gone to remote areas of Pakistan to avoid arrest, authorities said.
“Instructions have gone to police to arrest Afghans living in Pakistan illegally,” said Jan Achakzai, spokesperson for the provincial government. He said authorities have been asked to deport 10,000 Afghans a day.
Mr Achakzai spoke days after authorities at the two key border crossings, Torkham in the north-west and Chaman in the south-west, acknowledged that there had been a sudden decrease in the number of Afghans sent back to Afghanistan after being arrested on charges of living in Pakistan illegally.
An estimated 1.7 million Afghans were living in Pakistan in October when authorities announced the crackdown, saying that anyone without proper documents had to go back to their countries by the end of the month or be arrested.
Since then, more than 400,000 Afghans have returned to their home country.
Pakistani officials say they are deporting only foreigners, including Afghans, who are in the country illegally, and an estimated 1.4 million Afghans registered as refugees should not worry as they are not the target of the anti-migrant drive. Police in Pakistan have been going door-to-door to check migrants’ documentation.
Pakistan has been hosting Afghans since the 1980s, when millions fled south and east to the neighbouring Islamic nation during the Soviet occupation of their country. The numbers spiked after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
As part of its crackdown, Pakistan stopped recognising special permits which allowed hundreds of thousands of people in Chaman to cross between the two countries. The new visa requirement angered residents who have been rallying near the border.
The protesters want Pakistan to let them continue using the special permits for business purposes and to meet relatives living in the Afghan border city of Spin Boldak.
In Afghanistan, the Taliban-led administration says it is providing shelter and food to returnees. According to the private Tolo News channel, returning Afghan refugees have complained of mistreatment by Pakistani soldiers.
The alleged mistreatment of migrants by Pakistani authorities has been condemned by human rights organisations.
On Tuesday, the New York-based Human Rights Watch said Pakistani authorities have committed widespread abuses against Afghans living in the country to compel their return home.
“Pakistani officials have created a coercive environment for Afghans to force them to return to life-threatening conditions in Afghanistan,” said Elaine Pearson, Asia director at Human Rights Watch. “The authorities should immediately end the abuses and give Afghans facing expulsion the opportunity to seek protection in Pakistan.”
Pakistani authorities have denied such allegations, saying anyone found guilty of mistreating Afghan immigrants lacking permanent legal status would be punished.
Mr Achakzai said migrants who are in the country illegally are held at deportation centres in a dignified manner before being transported to border crossings so they can go back home.
The years Ramadan fell in May
England's lowest Test innings
- 45 v Australia in Sydney, January 28, 1887
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- 52 v Australia at The Oval, August 14, 1948
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The specs: 2018 Ducati SuperSport S
Price, base / as tested: Dh74,900 / Dh85,900
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50-man Royal Rumble - names entered so far include Braun Strowman, Daniel Bryan, Kurt Angle, Big Show, Kane, Chris Jericho, The New Day and Elias
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
EU Russia
The EU imports 90 per cent of the natural gas used to generate electricity, heat homes and supply industry, with Russia supplying almost 40 per cent of EU gas and a quarter of its oil.
The five pillars of Islam
The Old Slave and the Mastiff
Patrick Chamoiseau
Translated from the French and Creole by Linda Coverdale
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Virat Kohli (c), Mayank Agarwal, Rohit Sharma, Cheteshwar Pujara, Ajinkya Rahane, Hanuma Vihari, Rishabh Pant (wk), Wriddhiman Saha (wk), Ravichandran Ashwin, Ravindra Jadeja, Kuldeep Yadav, Mohammed Shami, Umesh Yadav, Ishant Sharma, Shubman Gill
Which products are to be taxed?
To be taxed:
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MATCH INFO
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New Zealand win by 21 runs
MATCH INFO
Azerbaijan 0
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GULF MEN'S LEAGUE
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Opening fixtures
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
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Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
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The biog
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hall of shame
SUNDERLAND 2002-03
No one has ended a Premier League season quite like Sunderland. They lost each of their final 15 games, taking no points after January. They ended up with 19 in total, sacking managers Peter Reid and Howard Wilkinson and losing 3-1 to Charlton when they scored three own goals in eight minutes.
SUNDERLAND 2005-06
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HUDDERSFIELD 2018-19
Joined Derby as the only team to be relegated in March. No striker scored until January, while only two players got more assists than goalkeeper Jonas Lossl. The mid-season appointment Jan Siewert was to end his time as Huddersfield manager with a 5.3 per cent win rate.
ASTON VILLA 2015-16
Perhaps the most inexplicably bad season, considering they signed Idrissa Gueye and Adama Traore and still only got 17 points. Villa won their first league game, but none of the next 19. They ended an abominable campaign by taking one point from the last 39 available.
FULHAM 2018-19
Terrible in different ways. Fulham’s total of 26 points is not among the lowest ever but they contrived to get relegated after spending over £100 million (Dh457m) in the transfer market. Much of it went on defenders but they only kept two clean sheets in their first 33 games.
LA LIGA: Sporting Gijon, 13 points in 1997-98.
BUNDESLIGA: Tasmania Berlin, 10 points in 1965-66
'Gehraiyaan'
Director:Shakun Batra
Stars:Deepika Padukone, Siddhant Chaturvedi, Ananya Panday, Dhairya Karwa
Rating: 4/5
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