ISLAMABAD, Oct 27 (NNI): Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti has reiterated that the government will not extend the date set for
evacuation of the illegal immigrants.
The minister said the government had devised a final plan for the
foreigners living here illegally and now they had two days in hand to
leave Pakistan.
He said the geo-fencing and geo-mapping of the illegal settlers had been
completed. He said following the document regime, the government was
supporting those landing in Pakistan with proper documentation.
He said people would not be allowed to enter Pakistan without visa.
Under the one document regime, the minister said a passport office would
be inaugurated in Qila Abdullah tomorrow (Saturday).
As for the crackdown on smuggling, the minister said the government had
controlled smuggling in Balochistan and not hit any business activity.
On Thursday, addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he said to
evacuate such foreigners the temporary camps had been set up where
provincial governments would provide them food and medical facilities.
He said the provincial governments would bear all expenses of these
camps.
He said illegal residents would be repatriated to their countries from
the holding centres. Utmost respect of children, women and elders would
be maintained at the centres, he said, adding after Nov 1, no compromise
would be made on the illegal residents.
Bugti also ruled out the possibility of an extension to the deadline,
saying there were no current proposals for such an extension.
Bugti, while briefing the Senate Standing Committee on Interior,
emphasised that the government’s intent to take action against
unauthorised residents had been misconstrued.
Earlier on Oct 3, the caretaker government had announced that
law-enforcement agencies would repatriate all individuals living
illegally in Pakistan after the deadline’s expiration.
At that time, Bugti had indicated that approximately 1.73 million
unregistered Afghans were residing in the country.
State media had previously reported that the decision to remove 1.1
million foreigners living unlawfully was prompted by the revelation of
their involvement in terrorist activities and illegal practices like
smuggling.
This announcement had faced criticism from various quarters, with many
questioning whether it primarily targeted Afghan refugees.
In his briefing, Bugti clarified, “Our intention was to deport
unauthorised residents, but our announcement was interpreted as if we
were only deporting Afghans. The government’s message was not exclusive
to Afghans; it applied to all undocumented residents.”
The minister explained that individuals with refugee cards or valid
visas were considered guests, and the government was also deporting
unauthorised entrants from Iran, particularly those from the Baloch
community.
Bugti highlighted that the issue should not be seen as an ethnic matter,
emphasising that it solely pertained to deporting unauthorised residents
from the country. He noted that no country in the world allowed people
to reside illegally within its borders.
The minister reiterated that the issue had no ethnic dimension and did
not involve diplomatic interference, stating that there was no need for
such interference.
Sindh Home Minister retired Brig Haris Nawaz had similarly emphasised
the operation’s broader scope, clarifying that it targeted all foreign
nationals residing illegally in the country. NNI
