Taliban Implements New Identity Verification Policy For Refugees From Pakistan
The Taliban have declared that entry into Afghanistan will be restricted to refugees whose identities are verified through their mission in Pakistan.
The Taliban have declared that entry into Afghanistan will be restricted to refugees whose identities are verified through their mission in Pakistan.
This move, as reported by Dawn, a leading Pakistani newspaper, is intended to prevent the misclassification of Pakistani nationals as "Afghan deportees."
Dawn's sources at the Taliban's mission in Pakistan reveal that since this policy's implementation last Friday, there have been no deportations to Afghanistan from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The Taliban contends that, under the guise of deporting undocumented immigrants, Pakistani police have erroneously sent Pakistani citizens to Afghanistan.
When these individuals were sent back to Pakistan, Taliban diplomatic sources reported that Pakistani authorities rejected their re-entry. This issue is part of broader disagreements between the Taliban and Pakistan regarding the deportation of nearly two million migrants lacking legal documentation.
The Taliban has accused the Pakistani government of confiscating immigrants' belongings and not allowing sufficient time for them to retrieve these items before deportation. In contrast, Pakistani authorities have dismissed these accusations as unfounded, stating that comprehensive records, including photographs and fingerprints, have been taken of all deported individuals for future reference.
Pakistani officials further assert that the Taliban's new requirement for consulate verification will slow the deportation process, potentially prolonging the detention of these immigrants in Pakistan.
