LAHORE, Pakistan: The Punjab Afghan repatriation drive detained 284 Afghan nationals and moved them to 39 holding centres for removal through the Torkham border, the provincial Home Department said on July 31.
Staff at the centres will register the detainees and complete the required documentation. Authorities will then escort them to Torkham and hand them over to Afghan officials.
The Punjab Home Department’s Foreign National Security Cell coordinates the operation across the province, according to the department’s figures.
Read: Foreign Nationals Repatriated From Punjab Reach 35,719
Provincial officials said Punjab had already returned 139,902 Afghan nationals whom authorities classified as lacking legal immigration status.
Separate government figures placed the nationwide total at 2,663,891 returns under Pakistan’s repatriation program. However, the update did not state the reporting period covered by that figure.
Read: Torkham Border Reopens for Afghan Deportation After 21-Day Closure
A federal Interior Ministry directive previously ordered authorities to arrest Afghan nationals without valid visas from July 10. It also required provincial administrations to submit daily enforcement reports.
The Punjab Home Department urged residents to report suspected unlawful stays or identity fraud through the Emergency 15 helpline. It said authorities would protect informants’ identities.
The department said enforcement applied only to foreign nationals without lawful status in Pakistan.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees separately categorises voluntary repatriation and forced returns in its weekly monitoring of Afghan nationals leaving Pakistan.
