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.
Sindh issues deportation warning as Amnesty calls for reversal of Pakistan’s Afghan repatriation decision
https://arab.news/gr78z
Sindh issues deportation warning as Amnesty calls for reversal of Pakistan’s Afghan repatriation decision
- The interim home minister of Sindh says registered refugees will continue to remain Pakistan’s guests
- Local Afghan community in Sindh says 138,000 immigrants from Afghanistan have already returned
Pakistan to face England in opening T20I clash at Headingley ahead of World Cup
- Skipper Babar Azam expresses confidence Pakistan will carry the winning momentum from the Ireland series
- England dominate the T20I rivalry with 19 wins to Pakistan’s nine triumphs, with one game ended as a no-result
ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan men’s cricket team will take on England in the first of the four-match T20I series at Headingley today, Wednesday, in what is expected to be an exciting match ahead of next month’s World Cup.
The last T20I meeting between Pakistan and England took place at the Melbourne Cricket Ground in the final of the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup 2022. England edged past Pakistan by five wickets in the close encounter with Sam Curran earning the Player of the Final award for his figures of three for 12.
A full-strength Pakistan cricket team is expected to take the field at Headingley on Wednesday at the back of a 2-1 series win against Ireland in Dublin last week. Mohammad Rizwan and Shaheen Shah Afridi snapped up the Player of the Match awards in the two victories.
Pakistan men’s white-ball head coach Gary Kirsten also joined the side on 19 May for the first assignment of his two-year tenure.
“I am confident that Pakistan will carry the winning momentum from the Ireland series into the England T20Is. Our 2-1 victory in Dublin showcased the brilliance of our batters and bowlers, while also providing us with learnings as we aim to work on our areas of improvement,” said Pakistan skipper Babar Azam, the most successful captain in T20Is with 46 wins.
“We’ve had productive training sessions at Headingley and with head coach Gary Kirsten linking up with the squad, we are focused on fine-tuning our strategies and combinations for the four T20Is against England and T20 World Cup,” he added.
England dominate the T20I rivalry with 19 wins to Pakistan’s nine triumphs, while one game ended as a no-result. England were the winners of the previous bilateral series against Pakistan, clinching the seven T20Is played in Lahore and Karachi 4-3.
Series schedule:
22 May – v England, 1st T20I, Leeds
25 May – v England, 2nd T20I, Birmingham
28 May – v England 3rd T20I, Cardiff
30 May – v England, 4th T20I, The Oval
PM Sharif to visit Iran today following fatal helicopter crash involving President Raisi
- The incident occurred when the Iranian president was flying to Tabriz amid dense fog causing poor visibility
- The Pakistani prime minister will meet the Iranian supreme leader, acting president to offer his condolences
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif is scheduled to travel to Iran today, Wednesday, to offer his condolences after President Dr. Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian lost their lives in a helicopter crash in East Azerbaijan Province on May 19.
The incident occurred after the Iranian president attended the inauguration of a joint hydropower project on the Aras River, which forms part of the border with Azerbaijan, in a ceremony with his counterpart Ilham Aliyev.
His helicopter crashed while he was on his way back to Tabriz with a seven-member entourage amid dense fog, causing poor visibility.
The Pakistani prime minister paid tribute to the Iranian president and foreign minister during the recent cabinet meeting. The Iranian officials arrived in Islamabad and visited other Pakistani cities last month and vowed to enhance bilateral trade between the two countries.
“Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif will visit the Islamic Republic of Iran today to offer condolences at the sad demise of President Dr. Seyyed Ebrahim Raisi and Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian,” the foreign office announced in a statement.
“The Prime Minister will call on the Supreme Leader, His Eminence, Ayatollah Imam Khamenei, the Leader of the Islamic Revolution and meet Acting President of Iran, Dr. Mohammad Mokhber, to convey condolences on behalf of the people and Government of Pakistan,” it added.
Sharif will be accompanied by Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar and other senior cabinet ministers.
According to media outlets, Raisi’s funeral will be held on Thursday.
Tens of thousands of Iranians in Tabriz on Tuesday mourned their president and other Iranian officials who died in the crash, walking behind the vehicle carrying their coffins.
Pakistan’s deputy PM visits Kyrgyzstan to address concerns of Pakistani students following mob violence
- Ishaq Dar flew to Bishkek with the Kyrgyz foreign minister after their meeting on the sidelines of SCO conference in Astana
- Pakistan continues to evacuate students even as the top officials of the two countries hold meetings to sort things out
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar arrived in Kyrgyzstan’s capital, Bishkek, on Tuesday to address concerns of young nationals of his country enrolled in various educational institutions of the Central Asian state who were targeted by mob violence last week.
The violence began in Bishkek on Friday night after videos of a brawl between Kyrgyz and Egyptian students went viral on social media, prompting groups of local residents to target university hostels and private lodgings of international students, including those from Pakistan.
According to official figures, about 10,000 Pakistani students are enrolled in Kyrgyzstan, with nearly 6,000 in Bishkek. The frenzied violence forced them to confine themselves for several hours in their rooms without food and drinking water, with many of them making evacuation requests online.
Dar, who is also the foreign minister of Pakistan, held a meeting with his Kyrgyz counterpart in Kazakhstan on the sidelines of a meeting of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Council of Foreign Ministers.
“Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Senator Mohammad Ishaq Dar has arrived in Bishkek, Kyrgyz Republic for a working visit,” Pakistan’s foreign office announced in a statement on Tuesday. “He was invited to visit the Kyrgyz Republic by Kyrgyz Foreign Minister Zheenbek Kulubaev after their meeting yesterday in Astana, Kazakhstan on the sidelines of the SCO Council of Foreign Ministers. The two Ministers traveled together from Astana to Bishkek.”
“In Bishkek, the Deputy Prime Minister will discuss with the Kyrgyz Foreign Minister the concerns of Pakistani nationals in the Kyrgyz Republic, including the recent issues faced by Pakistani students,” it added.
Five Pakistani nationals were injured in last week’s violence. Four of them were released after receiving first aid. However, one student was hospitalized due to more serious injuries.
Dar also met with the student who remains under treatment among his other official engagements.
Pakistan has so far repatriated over 1,000 students from Bishkek after the mob violence via various flights. The evacuation process continues even as officials of the two countries try to sort things out.
The most recent flight carrying about 170 Pakistani students arrived in Multan on Wednesday morning.
President of ex-PM Khan party released from prison after nearly a year in custody
- Pervaiz Elahi was arrested on June 1 in a case relating to alleged illegal appointments in Punjab Assembly
- His party says the anti-corruption watchdog failed to prove Elahi had accepted any money against recruitment
ISLAMABAD: Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi, president of former prime minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party, was released from prison on Tuesday after the Lahore High Court granted him bail in a case relating to alleged illegal appointments, the PTI said.
Elahi was arrested on June 1, 2023 after being accused of getting results of the testing service changed to have the candidates of his choice appointed in the Punjab provincial assembly.
Justice Sultan Tanvir of the Lahore High Court accepted his bail petition while presiding over a hearing of the case on Tuesday and ordered his release.
“The anti-corruption body filed the case after a delay of two years,” the PTI said in a statement. “Anti-corruption body failed to prove that Mr. Elahi had accepted any money against recruitment or his involvement in the recruitment procedure.”
Elahi has twice served as the chief minister of Pakistan’s most populous Punjab province and dissolved the provincial assembly in January 2023 on Khan’s instructions, in a bid to force early nationwide elections.
His arrest on June 1 came amid a crackdown on Khan’s PTI party after violent clashes and attacks on government and military installations over Khan’s brief arrest in May 9.
Khan, who was ousted in a parliamentary no-trust vote in April, has been in jail since last August and convicted in multiple cases. Arguably Pakistan’s most popular politician, Khan says all cases against him are politically motivated to keep him out of politics.
Over 1,000 relief camps set up as Pakistan braces for heatwave
- The Pakistan Meteorological Department said temperatures are expected to hit as high as 50°Celsius in parts of rural Sindh
- Extreme heat in Pakistan is often coupled by deficit in power supply, with some areas experiencing 15-hour daily loadshedding
KARACHI: Over 1,000 camps have been set up across Pakistan’s southern province of Sindh in anticipation of a severe heatwave, disaster management officials said Tuesday.
The Pakistan Meteorological Department said temperatures are expected to hit as high as 50 degrees Celsius (122 degrees Fahrenheit) in parts of rural Sindh.
“These camps have been set up to provide relief to affected people, and to help reduce instances of heatstroke and other heat-related diseases,” Ajay Kumar assistant director of the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) told AFP.
“They are also equipped with places of rest, water and glucose to give to people as and when these are needed,” he added.
The heatwave will affect much of the country, building over the next week.
Extreme heat in Pakistan is often coupled by deficit in power supply, with some areas experiencing up to 15 hours a day of loadshedding, according to local media.
Pakistan increasingly vulnerable to extreme weather events, which scientists have linked to climate change.
Schools in the province have already postponed annual examinations scheduled for this week, including in the mega port city of Karachi, home to more than 20 million people.
PDMA Chief Meteorologist Sardar Sarfaraz said that “women who spend most of their time in the kitchen and in the fields in rural areas are the hardest hit.”
The heatwave also raises concern about the survival of livestock, Kumar added.
