Canada welcomes over 300 Afghans from Pakistan

OTTAWA – The government of Canada welcomed 338 Afghans who flew off from Pakistan amid the crackdown launched by the authorities, it emerged on Friday.

In an official statement, the immigration department of Canada said 338 Afghan nationals arrived in Vancouver on a charter flight from Pakistan.

The department said the Afghans will continue their journey to approximately 40 communities across Canada, including Calgary, St. John’s and Windsor.

‘Canada has met its goal of welcoming at least 40,000 refugees and vulnerable Afghans since August 2021, and work continues to process eligible applications already received,’ it said.

The government said the authorities would continue to process the existing applications regarding citizenship and immigration received through all the special programs for Afghans on a priority basis.

‘Under the Special Immigration Measures Program, we’ve received enough referrals to meet our goal of welcoming 18,000 Afghans,’ the department stated.

It is to be highlighted that the migration of Afghans was triggered recently after Pakistan’s caretaker government and interior minister announced that people who are living in the country without the proper documentation need to leave by November 1, 2023, or they might be sent back to their home countries.

The federal government had also started a massive crackdown operation after the deadline; the government cites security and economic concerns as the reason behind the deportation though the Afghan government claims that it was not involved in any subversive activities within Pakistan.

The government had also set up some ‘holding centers’ for these refugees, rubbing the perception that any particular community was being targeted in the operation.

By January, next year the government of Pakistan plans to deport up to one million unauthorized immigrants, with an emphasis on undocumented Afghan refugees as confirmed by Jan Achakzai, caretaker information minister of Balochistan, who said deportation is being done through Chaman border in collaboration with the governments of Sindh and Punjab to speed up this process.

Meanwhile, Pakistan is also facing international pressure to stop the exercise and in a latest statement, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has urged Pakistan to stop mass deportation during the harsh winter, Arab News reported.

It is important that there have been strong arguments on both sides of the aisle as some say that stopping terrorism is linked with deporting illegal immigrants while others say that those who have stayed in Pakistan for decades should not be deported in such a manner.