Khyber Pakhtunkhwa begins mapping Afghan nationals amid nationwide repatriation drive

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government has started the mapping of Afghan citizens in line with the Pakistan government’s policy to repatriate them to Afghanistan, officials said. Thousands of Afghans have lived in the provincial capital Peshawar since 1978, when the Russian invasion of neighbouring Afghanistan led to a massive influx of refugees into Pakistan.

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has deputed police to map and collect data on the whereabouts of Afghans, as the district administration here identified 160,000 people holding Afghan Citizens Cards (ACC) who are set to be repatriated. Police say mapping of Afghans and other foreign nationals living in Peshawar is underway and will help determine their exact numbers in specific areas.

Over 90 teams were constituted for mapping in Peshawar, comprising officials from police, district administration, and other departments. Of these over 200 are police officials. Holding centres in Peshawar and Khyber districts are also being manned by police contingents. However, a police official, wishing not to be named, said they have not yet received orders about Afghans living illegally in Peshawar. Afghans wanting voluntary repatriation will be repatriated, the police official said.

On Saturday, the Torkham border point in Khyber district saw the largest deportation of Afghans since April 1, when the government launched a nationwide operation to repatriate illegal foreigners. Over 750 refugees, including men, women and children, were sent to Afghanistan after they were rounded up in the Punjab province and Islamabad. Officials at the transit centre in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Landi Kotal said the Afghan nationals were handed over to the Khyber police at the Karkhano Market check post in Peshawar.

The refugees were first taken to the transit centre for registration at the NADRA (National Database and Registration Authority) desk and then shifted to the Torkham border to complete the deportation process. Officials at the transit centre noted a rise in the number of returning Afghans since the March 31 deadline for voluntary repatriation expired, as Punjab police intensified their crackdown on undocumented Afghan nationals in the province. The assistant commissioner of Landi Kotal directed all Afghans residing in the tehsil to vacate their homes and return to Afghanistan, as per the federal government’s order to expel all illegal foreigners.

Meanwhile, the Kohat administration has asked Afghan nationals, including illegal refugees and Afghan Citizen Card holders, to return to their country voluntarily. According to official data, in Kohat’s 08 (eight) camps, 100,000 Afghan refugee’s dwell, of which 16,000 got Afghan Citizen Cards from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in 2017. Kohat Additional Deputy Commissioner (ADC) (G) Hamid Iqbal, Superintendent of police (SP) (City) Farooq Zaman and other officials met with Afghan elders from three Ghamkol Sharif refugee camps on Saturday. They emphasised that Pakistan had hosted refugees for 40 years but it was time for them to return on their own in line with the government’s decision. The ADC said authorities won’t use force to send refugees to Afghanistan and would facilitate their return; Afghan refugees should understand Pakistan’s economic and security compulsions under which they can’t be hosted any further, so they should opt for voluntary repatriation. Meanwhile, customs officials said that over the past three days, 519 vehicles transported export goods to Afghanistan, while an additional 85 vehicles carrying Afghan Transit Trade consignments were also dispatched.

Team Maverick