26 days for all illegal foreigners living in Pakistan to exit
All illegal foreigners living in Pakistan now have only 26 days to exit the country.
The Pakistan government had set the deadline of October 31 for all illegal foreign residents to exit the country. The government has also stressed that after the deadline, the law enforcement agencies would arrest the illegal residents and ensure they are deported to their home countries.
Meanwhile, the Foreign Office has announced that the identity of anyone providing information about illegal foreign residents would remain undisclosed.
The deadline for the operation against illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan depends on their number and the measures taken, said FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch at the weekly media briefing.
On the other hand, Pakistan has accelerated the process of geotagging and tracking illegal Afghan immigrants in the country, and a survey has also been issued for their return home.
Significant progress has now been made in this regard, and a survey has been issued to track and return the illegally residing Afghan nationals.
A recent Fourth Schedule Mapping of Punjab by the police and security institutions identified 2,291 trained Afghan extremists, while 541 persons released from Afghan jails have also been included in the watch list.
According to police records, the number of identity cardholders and documented registered Afghans in Punjab is more than 275,000, while there is no record of over-stayers and illegal residents. Out of these, 88,295 are Afghan citizen card-holders, while 186,904 possess proof of registration card.
On Oct 3, the national apex committee on security had decided to kickstart an operation to oust any illegal Afghan immigrants after which an intense crackdown was launched and hundreds arrested.