Karachi police arrests 11 Afghan nationals illegally residing in Karachi: Report
Dec 26, 2022
Karachi [Pakistan], December 26 : The Karachi police claims to have arrested 11 Afghan nationals who were illegally residing in the Pakistna city, reported ARY News.
The 11 Afghan nationals were arrested when the police conducted raids in the city's central district.
The raids were conducted in Khawaja Ajmer Nagri, Sir Syed, Rizvia, Gabol and other areas of Karachi.
The arrested Afghan nationals were booked under Pakistan's Foreign Act.
"Earlier on November 11, Sindh Rangers and police in their joint action rounded up 122 illegal immigrants who were attempting to enter Sindh from Balochistan," reported ARY News.
The 122 suspects were found when personnel of the paramilitary forces and police searched a passenger bus in a routine practice, according to Sindh Rangers spokesperson. The 122 suspects were Afghan citizens who had illegally penetrated into Pakistan, the spokesperson added.
According to ARY News: "The arrested included 89 men, 20 children and 14 women, the Rangers spokesperson said. During the biometric verification, their Pakistani identity could not be proven, after which they were handed over to the Balochistan government for deportation to Afghanistan."
The recent arrests come after the Pakistan government's announcement that Afghan migrants with no legal documentation will be fined or blacklisted rather than being thrown into jail, Khaama Press reported.
After the Taliban came into power on August 15, 2021, thousands of Afghanis fled to different countries including Pakistan either with legal visas or illegally sneaking into the country mainly through the Chaman crossing point.
Among these Afghan migrants, there are interpreters and civil service providers who served with the military forces of different countries, namely Canada, the US, Germany and others. They are impatiently waiting for their visas to get processed, according to Khaama Press.
The Afghan refugees in Pakistan don't have the right to work causing them income-related problems.
Following the armed clashes that took place at the Chaman-Spin Boldak area between the border forces of Pakistan and Afghanistan on December 11 and 15, the relationship between the two countries has deteriorated.
After the clashes, Pakistan's foreign office summoned the Afghan officials in Islamabad and issued a "strong condemnation" over the recent incidents of cross-border shelling, as per the Khaama Press report.
