Pakistan: Attock administration shifts 2500 afghan refugees to transit camps

Amid the deadline for Afghans to voluntarily return expired on October 31, Pakistan's Punjab province administration has shifted over 2500 undocumented Afghans to transit camp from various parts of Attock for deportation, ARY News reported on Sunday.

According to deputy commissioner Attock, 2,500 illegal Afghan immigrants have been shifted to the transit camp during the biometric verification of the illegal foreigners staying in the district.

The Pakistan-based media outlet reported that Caretaker Minister for Interior Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti has directed the authorities concerned to formulate a comprehensive strategy for the repatriation of foreigners residing illegally in Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Afghanistan Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund said that the Pakistan's action is against international laws, reported TOLO News.

PM Akhund in a video message, appealed Pakistan to not "expel Afghans in an undignified manner, to not harass Afghans and to give them sufficient time so that they can return in a dignified manner."

"If their (Pakistan) reason is to expel undocumented migrants only, then why are they humiliating the refugees, stealing their property, and destroying their houses?" he added.

He warned Pakistan of further consequences of the mistreatment of Afghan refugees, TOLO News reported."You (Pakistan) are a neighbour, you should think about the future," he stressed.

Earlier, US National Security spokesperson John Kirby said that Washington wants to see all nations do "what they can to help refugees and asylum seekers."

The UN Secretary General's Spokesman, Stephane Dujarric has also appealed to Pakistan to continue its protection of all "vulnerable" Afghans who sought safety in the country, reported TOLO News.

This comes as the Pakistan caretaker government announced October 31 as the deadline for Afghan refugees to leave the country. The deadline called for nearly 2 million Afghan refugees to leave Pakistan or face forced deportation.

However, the decision sparked global criticisms with many human rights organizations calling on Islamabad to reverse the planned action, according to TOLO News.

Moreover, many Afghan refugees complained about mistreatment by Pakistan's police while being deported.

Abdul Rahim Mahajar, an Afghan refugee, said, "These people are being very cruel to us. If they had given us 4 or 5 months more, we could have spent the winter here in comfort."

"Then, God willing, we would have gone back to our country," another Afghan refugee said.

Earlier on Friday, Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed acting Defense Minister Mawlawi Mohammad Yaqoob Mujahid has criticized the Pakistan caretaker government's treatment of Afghan refugees.

Mujahid in an audio clip, called on the Pakistan government to not “be cruel to the Afghans, not seize their personal property and assets.”

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