The government of Pakistan has told around 1. 7 million Afghan people who came to seek safety without permission that they must go back to their own country by November.
There have been more militant attacks this year along the border of the two countries, which has made tensions between them worse.
Pakistan said that attacks at the border were caused by people from Afghanistan, but the Taliban government says this is not true.
However, this action has made people in Islamabad angry. As a result, the government has decided to take strong action against migrants who are living there illegally.
A big explosion happened at a mosque in Mastung city last week. It happened near the border with Afghanistan. At least 50 people were killed during a religious celebration.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti did not specifically mention the recent attacks in Balochistan province when he announced the crackdown on unauthorized Afghan citizens on Tuesday.
International law supports and guarantees the right to find safety and protection in another country. Pakistan has welcomed many Afghan people who have had to leave their country and seek safety in Pakistan. This has happened especially because the Taliban regained control of Afghanistan in 2021.
According to the UN, there are about 1. 3 million Afghan people who have been recognized as refugees, and an additional 880,000 have been given legal permission to stay in another country.
But Bugti said on Tuesday that there are another 1. 7 million people in the country who are not legally allowed to be there. This might refer to those who have not yet been granted refugee status.
He said those people must go away from the country before the month is over – whether they choose to leave on their own or are made to leave by force.
If they don’t go. He said that if necessary, all the police forces in the provinces or federal government will be used to send them out of the country. He did not give more information about how the operation would happen.
He also said that he will create a group of people who will find and take away the businesses and property of Afghan people who are considered “illegal” in the country.
Afghan officials in Pakistan said local authorities have started rounding up Afghans, including those who have legal permission to stay and those who do not.
In a message on X, which used to be called Twitter, the embassy said that more than 1,000 Afghans had been arrested in the last two weeks.
The area near Pakistan’s border called Balochistan province often experiences attacks from armed groups like Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) or Pakistani Taliban, and the Islamic State militant group.
Earlier this month, a blast happened in the same area that harmed at least 11 individuals, including an important Muslim figure.
The local news source APP said that Islamabad wants all Afghan people, even those who have legal permission to be in Pakistan and residence cards, to eventually leave the country. It used information from the government for its report.
Mr Bugti said that there have been 24 instances of people intentionally exploding themselves in Pakistan’s border area since January. He stated that more than half of these attacks were organized by violent groups based in Afghanistan.
He said that starting from 1 November, only Afghans with visas and passports will be permitted to enter Pakistan, imposing stricter rules.
Afghans coming to Pakistan by land usually use their ID cards as a travel document. There are many Afghans who want to go to Pakistan but they have to wait a long time to get the necessary documents like visas and passports.
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