Current:Home > MyAs Pakistan cracks down on illegal migrants, nearly half a million Afghans have left, minister says-Angel Dreamer Wealth Society D1 Reviews & Insights
As Pakistan cracks down on illegal migrants, nearly half a million Afghans have left, minister says
View Date:2024-12-23 21:57:49
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Nearly half a million Afghans who were living in Pakistan without valid documents have returned home in just over two months as part of an ongoing crackdown on foreigners in the country without papers, the caretaker interior minister said Friday.
The expulsions are part of a nationwide crackdown by the government in Islamabad that started two months ago. Pakistan insists the campaign is not against Afghans specifically, though they make up most of the foreigners in the country.
Pakistan has long hosted about 1.7 million Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. In addition, more than half a million people fled Afghanistan when the Taliban seized power in August 2021, in the final weeks of U.S. and NATO pullout.
At a news conference in Islamabad on Friday, caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said more than 482,000 Afghans have returned home in the past more than two months, 90% going voluntarily. He said Pakistan has also decided to deport 10 Afghans who were in the country legally but who were taking part in politics.
“Only Pakistani citizens are allowed to engage in political activities in the country. Any foreigner who is found involved in any political activity will be deported immediately,” he said. Bugti did not identify the 10 Afghans who are being deported, nor did he give any details about their activities in Pakistan’s politics.
Bugti said in the ongoing first phase, only undocumented Afghans were being deported but at some point every Afghan refugee would have to go back because Pakistan had already hosted them for up to 40 years.
Most of the Afghans did not try to get Pakistani citizenship, hoping they would not be forced to leave the country. The sudden change in the country’s policy has strained relations with Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration, which wanted Islamabad to give more time to Afghans, a request that was not accepted by Pakistan.
Bugti’s remarks are likely to cause panic among the nearly 1.4 million Afghans registered as living in Pakistan.
His comments come at a time when U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan Thomas West is visiting Pakistan. On Thursday, West met with Pakistan’s caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jillani, according to the ministry.
According to Pakistani officials, the two sides discussed a range of issues, including the ongoing drive against undocumented Afghans. The forced expulsion of Afghans without documentation has drawn widespread criticism from human rights activists, U.N. officials and others, who have asked Pakistan to reconsider the policy.
Currently, international aid groups and the U.N. are providing health care and nutrition to those arriving in Afghanistan from Pakistan. The Taliban administration is also providing aid to returnees.
veryGood! (8244)
Related
- 2 credit unions in Mississippi and Louisiana are planning to merge
- Democrat Andrea Salinas wins reelection in Oregon’s 6th District
- Kirk Herbstreit's late dog Ben gets emotional tribute on 'College GameDay,' Herbstreit cries on set
- Michigan jury awards millions to a woman fired after refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccine
- South Carolina does not set a date for the next execution after requests for a holiday pause
- Kevin O'Connell encourages benched Anthony Richardson: 'I still believe in you'
- Bill Self matches Phog Allen for most wins at Kansas as No. 1 Jayhawks take down No. 10 UNC
- A list of mass killings in the United States this year
- Top Federal Reserve official defends central bank’s independence in wake of Trump win
- Bribery case adds to problems in Mississippi city with water woes and policing disputes
Ranking
- Prosecutors say some erroneous evidence was given jurors at ex-Sen. Bob Menendez’s bribery trial
- Democrat Marie Gluesenkamp Perez wins reelection in Washington’s closely watched 3rd District
- Louisiana lawmakers advance Gov. Jeff Landry’s tax cut bills
- Republican Don Bacon wins fifth term to US House representing Nebraska’s Omaha-based district
- Where you retire could affect your tax bill. Here's how.
- Nicole Scherzinger Apologizes for Hurt Caused by Controversial Instagram Comment
- How many points did Cooper Flagg score tonight? Freshman gets double-double despite cramps
- Tony Todd, Star of Candyman, Dead at 69
Recommendation
-
New Pentagon report on UFOs includes hundreds of new incidents but no evidence of aliens
-
'My husband was dying right in front of me': Groom suffers brain injury in honeymoon fall
-
‘Saturday Night Live’ to take on a second Trump term after focusing on Harris
-
Tony Todd, Star of Candyman, Dead at 69
-
Justice Department says jail conditions in Georgia’s Fulton County violate detainee rights
-
Cowboys QB Dak Prescott plans to undergo season-ending surgery, according to reports
-
How Ariana Grande Channeled Wizard of Oz's Dorothy at Wicked's Los Angeles Premiere
-
Flight carrying No. 11 Auburn basketball team grounded after scuffle between players