Kabul links acceptance of deported migrants with verification

PESHAWAR- Afghanistan has conditioned the acceptance of Afghan migrants from Pakistan with verification, alleging that some of the Pakistanis were also able to cross the border as ‘Afghans’.

The move comes as no migrant was sent to Afghanistan from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa on Friday as Afghan authorities want to confirm the migrant’s status by checking with the Afghan Consulate General before accepting those deported.

The Afghan officials claim that Pakistanis who were sent back were not taken back by the Pakistani authorities. Sources associated with the operation also allege that hundreds of Afghan nationals were arrested from Pakistan and were sent back without their belongings, a claim refuted by the authorities.

On the other hand, Pakistani officials claim that no one can leave the country without documentation by the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), denying the claim that Pakistanis were being repatriated to Afghanistan.

The authorities state that Nadra keeps pictures and fingerprints of all deportees for future use and the verification condition imposed by Afghan authorities is causing delays in the deportation of illegal migrants.

Despite all these challenges, voluntary repatriation continues without hurdles. A total of 52 undocumented Afghans were sent back from Attock, 12 from Rawalpindi, 47 from Chakwal, two from Pakpattan, one from Hafizabad, and five from Gujrat, Dawn News reported.

Additionally, 16 illegal aliens were deported from Islamabad, 188 from Peshawar and 22 from Khyber tribal district were deported to Afghanistan via the Torkham border. Since September 17 this year, over 238,519 illegal migrants, comprising men, women, and children, have left for Afghanistan through different border points.

Pakistan’s caretaker regime had set a deadline of November 1st for illegal immigrants to leave the country or else face deportation though rights groups advocate against such move. Pakistan cites economic as well as security concerns for deporting the illegal migrants including Afghans.