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Terming illegal immigrants as "Aliens", Balochistan Caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai has said that the second phase of a crackdown against illegal foreigners has been initiated and the government is planning to deport 1 million illegal foreigners by January 2024, Pakistan-based Geo News reported.
More than 340,000 illegal migrants, particularly Afghans, have voluntarily left or been deported from Pakistan after the Pakistan caretaker government announced its decision to deport undocumented refugees on October 5. Earlier in October, the Pakistan caretaker government had said that all illegal immigrants should leave Pakistan by November 1 or face forceful expulsion, according to Geo News report. Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the caretaker provincial minister Jan Achakzai said all government agencies are involved in the crackdown on the illegal migrants, Geo News reported. He further said, "Those under any delusion that they will dodge crackdown live in fool's paradise." Achakzai stated that the repatriation of unregistered Afghan nations is taking place via the Chaman border. However, the process slowed down in the past few days. Thousands of Afghans are heading back to Afghanistan on a daily basis through Chaman and Torkham borders, according to Geo News report. In addition to other measures for the return of Afghans to Afghanistan, transit camps equipped with facilities have been setup in various areas for their temporary accommodation. The apex committee in a meeting on the National Action Plan (NAP) on October 3 decided to expel illegal foreigners. The decision was taken after a deadly suicide blast in Balochistan's Mastung, which claimed the lives of over 60 people. According to a statistical report released by the independent think tank Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS), at least 271 terrorist attacks took place during the first half of 2023, claiming the lives of 389 people and injuring 656 others. Terror activities in Pakistan increased by 79 per cent during the period. The United Nations (UN) has also said that refugees residing in Pakistan should be allowed to exit the country voluntarily and no pressure should be placed on them, Geo News reported. According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) statistics, approximately 1.33 million registered refugees hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, and 840,000 have Afghan citizenship cards. (ANI)
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