Govt sticks to deadline for illegal immigrants’ evacuation

F.P. Report
ISLAMABAD: 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.