Sindh issues deportation warning as Amnesty calls for reversal of Pakistan’s Afghan repatriation decision

KARACHI: A senior official of the interim Sindh administration reiterated the deportation warning to illegal immigrants on Saturday, as a leading global rights organization urged Pakistan to reconsider its decision to repatriate unregistered Afghan nationals to their country of origin.
Officials in Islamabad warned foreign nationals illegally residing in Pakistan earlier this month to voluntarily leave by November 1 or face expulsion. A majority of these people belong to Afghanistan and have been living in this country for several years.
Announcements were made via loudspeakers at several mosques in the southern Karachi port city on Saturday, warning people against providing shelter to the Afghan immigrants despite appeals made by rights organizations to consider the well-being of these people.
“Amnesty International strongly urges the Government of Pakistan to reverse its decision on the forced deportation of unregistered Afghan refugees by 1 November 2023,” the organization said in an open letter to Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar.
“Pakistan has been a generous host to the largest population of Afghan refugees in the world for 30 years, and we request that the government continues to host refugees in line with international human rights law,” it continued.
The letter highlighted that the government’s decision had put a large number of Afghans at imminent risk of going homeless just ahead of the harsh winter season.
It also noted that female refugees were likely to experience “considerable repression” since the Taliban administration had been pursuing policies that kept women out of the public sphere.
Amnesty pointed out that the arrests, detention, and harassment of Afghan refugees had intensified since the government announced the deportation deadline on October 3.
Speaking to Arab News, Sindh’s interim home minister Brig. (r) Haris Nawaz said the crackdown against illegal immigrants would take place once the deportation deadline was over.
He said he had just chaired a meeting to discuss the repatriation plan for illegal immigrants with various government agencies.
“We decided to commence the crackdown on the first of November, the deadline for illegal immigrants to leave our country,” he said. “We are encouraging them to depart on their own by allowing them to take their belongings with them.”
“We will treat them with respect since they have lived with us for a long time,” he continued. “We will take care of them, their women, elders, and children. There will be arrangements for their accommodation and food, as well as medical and sanitation facilities.”
Haris said the authorities had set up holding centers in Karachi, Hyderabad, Nawab Shah and Jacobabad, where illegal foreign nationals would be kept.
He informed that these facilities would have officials of the National Database Registration Authority (NADRA) and Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) who would verify the immigrants’ records through a single-window operation.
“For those who do not wish to leave, we will take strict action against them, but we will do this in a respectful manner,” he added.
The provincial minister said all people who owned properties would be allowed to sell them and take their value in Afghan currency at a later stage.
Asked if the government would ensure that registered refugees were not harassed anymore during the crackdown, the minister said they would continue to remain Pakistan’s guests.
“Those who have NADRA-issued documents and are registered as refugees will remain here as our guests and will not be disturbed,” he added.
Meanwhile, Hajji Abdullah, head of the Afghan Refugees’ Council in Sindh, told Arab News that nearly 138,000 Afghans who previously resided in the province had returned to their country in recent weeks.
“Every day, 1,500 people leave for Afghanistan from Karachi, and around 10 percent of them are registered refugees since they also fear arrest due to widespread police harassment,” he said.
“As of now, 138,000 have left for their country and many more will leave since our people don’t want to be disrespected,” he added.