Pakistan Refuses to Review Mass Deportation Programme Of Afghan Refugees

Pakistani officials said that the involvement of Afghan immigrants in attacks and cooperation with Islamist militants has weakened the country's security.

On Friday, Abdul Nasir Khan, deputy commissioner of Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province said, “Pakistan has opened 12 more border centres to speed up the repatriation of tens of thousands of Afghan citizens without residency documents, ignoring calls from refugee and human rights groups to reconsider the mass deportation programme.

Khan added that the facilities at the Torkham border crossing have been tripled to allow more Afghan immigrants to return to their country.

On November 1, the Pakistani government's one-month deadline for the voluntary return of Afghan refugees to their country ended, and the country intensified the process of arrest and forced deportation of these migrants.

Pakistani officials said that the main reason for the expulsion of Afghan refugees is the involvement of several Afghan immigrants in attacks by extremist Islamist militants in Pakistan, which has weakened the country's security. The Taliban have previously denied Islamabad’s claim.

Taliban officials in Kabul said that Pakistan's security is an internal problem and asked Islamabad to reconsider its decision.

Many Afghans sought refuge in different countries of the world, especially two neighbouring countries, Iran and Pakistan, in more than four decades of conflicts in Afghanistan.

According to the reports, with the return of the Taliban to power, more than 600,000 people have fled to Pakistan due to the Taliban's policies against human rights, especially women's rights.

Pakistani officials said that only 19,744 Afghans returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham border on Thursday. Meanwhile, 147,944 Afghans returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan in the last month.

Pakistani officials have said they will extend the deadline for Afghan patients and those who cannot travel from the country.

Pak “Regime” Must Consider Repercussions of Its Actions, Says Taliban’s Defence Minister

Nov 3, 2023, 12:04 GMT+0

As the mass deportation of Afghan immigrants has started in Pakistan, Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defence minister, urged Islamabad to "consider the repercussions of its actions" and that it will "reap what it sows”.

In an audio tape released by the Taliban, Mullah Yaqoob called the government of Pakistan a "regime".

In this six-and-a-half-minute audio file that was released on Friday, Yaqoob speaks about various aspects of the mass deportation of Afghan immigrants from Pakistan.

He called Pakistan's decision to deport Afghan immigrants a unilateral decision that is unacceptable to the Taliban government and said, "This is a cruel decision that was imposed on Afghans and has caused them problems."

In another part of his speech, the Taliban’s Defence Minister urged Pakistan not to oppress Afghans, take their personal property, or confiscate their properties.

Mullah Yaqoob stressed that Pakistan cannot confiscate the property of immigrants based on any law or principle.

The Taliban's defence minister emphasised on the group's commitment to prevent the confiscation of assets and properties of Afghan immigrants, vowing not to allow anyone to "steal the properties of our Afghan brothers" under any circumstances.

It seems that the fate of the properties and assets of Afghan immigrants following their expulsion from Pakistan is one of the disputed issues between the Pakistani government and the Taliban.

In a statement on Thursday, the Taliban embassy in Islamabad also announced that the group's ambassador had a meeting with the interior minister of the interim government of Pakistan and discussed the transfer of assets of Afghan refugees.

The details of these talks are not yet clear.

Over 19,000 Afghan Immigrants Returned To Afghanistan Through Torkham Border, Says Pak

Nov 3, 2023, 10:23 GMT+0

The Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in Pakistan announced that on Thursday, 19,320 people returned to Afghanistan from the Torkham crossing.

The organisation added that these immigrants returned to their country "voluntarily".

According to Pakistani officials, these immigrants included 1,453 families.

The Pakistani government had given immigrants without legal documentation a deadline until November 1 to leave the country.

Following the expiration of this deadline, Pakistan has started the process of arresting "illegal" immigrants.

According to Pakistani officials, about 1.7 million Afghan individuals are included among these immigrants.

Human rights organisations have expressed concern over the decision of the expulsion of Afghan refugees by Pakistan.

Theatre Manager of Directorate of Information & Culture of Herat Detained by Taliban

Nov 3, 2023, 09:44 GMT+0

Reliable sources in Herat told Afghanistan International that the Taliban has detained Faridoon Fakuri, the theatre manager of the Directorate of Information and Culture of Herat province.

According to sources, Fakouri had been detained on Tuesday, October 31, in Herat city when he was returning home.

The Taliban has not yet explained the reason for the detention of this Herat city government employee.

Sources said that in recent months Fakuri had performed plays criticising the Taliban’s policies in Herat.

One of his plays had been performed during Zabihullah Mujahid, Taliban’s spokesperson’s visit to Herat in the summer.

According to local sources, Fakuri had organised a play about the consequences of banning girls' education at the ceremony attended by the Taliban spokesperson.

Taliban’s Intelligence Headquarters in Pol-e Khomri Rocked by Explosion

Nov 2, 2023, 15:58 GMT+0

On Thursday, local sources reported an explosion in the city of Pol-e Khomri, the capital of Baghlan province.

According to the residents of Baghlan, the explosion happened around 6:00pm local time near the Taliban intelligence headquarters and gunfire was heard too.

There is no information about the type of the explosion and its possible casualties.

Taliban sources have not yet commented on the explosion.

Pakistan’s Sindh Province Extends Validity of Refugee Cards of Afghans Till December 31

Nov 2, 2023, 14:22 GMT+0

As Pakistan starts nationwide deportation of immigrants without official residence documents in the country, the state of Sindh has decided to extend the refugee card of Afghans until December 31.

In an official letter, the province of Sindh has asked the Karachi police not to deport Afghans with "refugee cards".

In the letter seen by Afghanistan International, the state of Sindh has written to the Inspector General of the Sindh State Police, the Rangers security force of the state, and the Karachi Police that the issue of the renewal of the Afghan Refugee Card (POR) will be decided after December 31, 2023.

A POR card is a document issued to Afghan refugees, based on which Afghan refugees can legally stay in Pakistan.

According to the information published on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, this card is valid throughout Pakistan.

The United Nations has asked all Afghans to always carry this identity card with them so that they are not to arrested.

However, on Thursday, video clips from Rawalpindi City, reached Afghanistan International showing Pakistani police detaining Afghan refugees holding UN refugee cards.

Earlier, the UN Refugee Agency office in Islamabad confirmed to Afghanistan International that there are reports about the detention of migrants with official residence documents.

Earlier, the government of Pakistan asked the immigrants without official residency documents to leave the country before November 1.

With the end of this deadline, the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan has intensified the detention and forced deportation of Afghan immigrants throughout the country.

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