ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s top court has scheduled a hearing to review objections raised by its registrar office over a petition seeking a restraining order against forced deportation of Afghan nationals, Pakistani media reported on Sunday.
The Supreme Court of Pakistan decided to hear the objections to the plea after an “eager wait” of 18 days, Pakistan’s Express Tribune newspaper reported, citing a statement from the petitioner.
The statement emphasized the responsibility outlined in Article 184 (3), underscoring the top court’s role in preventing “systemic violations” of fundamental rights. Under the article, the Supreme Court can act on its own or on the application of any person, with the condition if it considers that any of the fundamental rights is violated.
“Justice Yahya Afridi is set to review the appeal in his chamber on November 20,” the Express Tribune report read.
Pakistan last month ordered all undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, to leave the country by November 1.
Pakistan’s Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar has said the expulsion plan was a response to the unwillingness of the Taliban-led administration to act against militants using Afghanistan to carry out attacks in Pakistan.
The Taliban have said the security issues are a domestic matter for Islamabad and called on Pakistan to stop deportations.
However, a crackdown by Pakistani authorities to round up undocumented migrants and deport them to their home countries has piled on misery on millions of Afghan refugees, who have been living in Pakistan for decades and some of them never set foot in Afghanistan.
Nearly 300,000 Afghans have since left Pakistan, while Islamabad has brushed aside calls from the United Nations (UN), Western embassies and rights groups to halt the deportations.
Pakistan top court to review objections over petition seeking to restrain deportation of Afghans
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Pakistan top court to review objections over petition seeking to restrain deportation of Afghans
- Pakistan last month ordered all undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, to leave the country by November 1
- Nearly 300,000 Afghans have since left Pakistan, while Islamabad has brushed aside calls to halt the deportations
Pakistan says it seized 32 square kilometers inside Afghanistan as border clashes escalate
- Security official describes ‘limited tactical action’ in Gudwana after Afghan assaults
- Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering militants as UN, China and Russia urge restraint
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has seized a 32-square-kilometer area inside Afghanistan following overnight fighting, a security official said on Saturday, as cross-border clashes between the two countries escalated sharply.
A Pakistani security official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said troops carried out a “limited tactical action” in the Gudwana area opposite the Zhob sector along the frontier, capturing Afghan territory after responding to attacks on Pakistani positions.
“On the night of Feb. 26/27, posts opposite the Zhob sector launched anticipated physical attacks on multiple Pakistani positions,” the official said, referring to fighters linked to Afghanistan’s Taliban authorities, whom Islamabad identifies as Tehreek-e-Taliban Afghanistan (TTA).
“In response to aggressive unprovoked fire and physical attacks, Pakistan security forces launched a limited tactical action on the night of Feb. 27/28 in the general area of Gudwana with a view to capture TTA Tahir Post,” he continued, adding that 32 square kilometers of Afghan territory were seized.
The official said special combat teams crossed the border after preparatory bombardment, supported by intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets providing “real-time battlefield awareness.”
He said 24 Afghan Taliban fighters were killed and 37 wounded, with no Pakistani casualties reported.
The claims could not be independently verified, and there was no immediate confirmation from Taliban authorities in Kabul of any territorial loss in the Gudwana area.
The latest clashes erupted after Pakistani airstrikes targeted what Islamabad described as militant hideouts inside Afghanistan over the weekend, triggering retaliatory fire along the frontier and sharply escalating long-running tensions. Islamabad accuses Kabul of sheltering Pakistani Taliban militants responsible for attacks inside Pakistan, an allegation that Afghanistan denies.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Attaullah Tarar said on Saturday evening that 352 Afghan Taliban fighters had been killed and more than 535 wounded since the latest phase of hostilities began.
Tarar said Pakistani strikes had destroyed 130 check posts, 171 tanks and armored vehicles and targeted 41 locations across Afghanistan by air. Those figures could not be independently verified.
The United Nations, as well as China and Russia, have called for restraint.
The United States said Pakistan has the right to defend itself against cross-border militancy.
