Refugee rights activists urged the Islamic Emirate to address the challenges faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan…reports Asian Lite News
The caretaker government of Pakistan reportedly approved the extension of residency for 1.3 million undocumented Afghan refugees, as per TOLO News.
Abdul Jabar Takhari, the consulate of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi, informed TOLO news that the Pakistani government had issued a two-month deadline for the 1.4 million undocumented Afghan refugees.
Takhari stated, “According to the interim government of Pakistan, 1.4 million undocumented Afghan refugees still exist in Pakistan who have a deadline until the end of March to live in Pakistan and after that, either leave Pakistan or there will be a new plan for them.”
Refugee rights activists urged the Islamic Emirate to address the challenges faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan, reported by TOLO News
Mohammd Khan Talibi Mohammadzai, a refugee rights activist, emphasized the importance of an organized plan for Afghan refugees, regarding the extension of their residency in Pakistan.
“Extension of residency of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is a good step but there is a need for an organized plan for the Afghan refugees,” said Mohammd Khan Talibi Mohammadzai
Meanwhile, the Afghan refugees in Pakistan complained about facing severe challenges in the country.
“They should not deport us; we will extend our visa and we will stay here,” said Nikzai, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.
“The Afghan refugees are facing a lot of challenges in Afghanistan. They also face economic problems,” said Shaheen, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.
According to statistics from the consulate of the Islamic Emirate in Pakistan, nearly 600,000 Afghan refugees have either been deported or voluntarily returned to Afghanistan within the last three months.
India nabs intruders
The Border Security Force (BSF) apprehended two illegal intruders along the Indo-Pakistan border in Punjab in two separate incidents.
In the first incident, the BSF Public Relations Officer, Punjab Frontier, said in a statement that on February 5, its troops apprehended an Afghan national crossing the International Border into Indian territory near a village in Gurdaspur district.
“Nothing objectionable has been recovered from his possession. The intruder was apprehended and handed over to the police for further investigation,” added the PRO statement.
In the second incident, a Pakistani national was apprehended near the international border in a village in Tarn Taran district.
“The intruder (16) identified himself as a resident of Punjab’s Kasur in Pakistan,” the PRO added.
One mobile phone and one Pakistani currency note of Rs 100 have been recovered from the accused, it added.
A day ago, BSF troops foiled a smuggling bid and apprehended one woman narcotics smuggler with prohibited Yaba tablets on the Indo-Bangladesh international border.
BSF, in a press release on Monday, said, “Acting on reliable input, on February 4 a special operation was launched. Vigilant troops of 90 Bn BSF apprehended one woman narcotic smuggler with 1000 Yaba tablets worth Rs 5 Lakh in the area of responsibility of BOP Gitaldah under Coochbehar district in West Bengal.
The BSF further said that the woman smuggler was apprehended when she was trying to smuggle prohibited Yaba tablets from India to Bangladesh.
On February 3, the BSF Meghalaya thwarted attempts to smuggle sugar across the Indo-Bangladesh border and recovered over 50,000 kgs of sugar intended for smuggling into Bangladesh, as per officials.
Keeping in view the vulnerability of the border and the heightened activities of drug traffickers and anti-national elements on the border, BSF troops are always on the alert to thwart trans-border crimes, including drug trafficking, and are making all-out efforts to prevent the commission of such crimes, the BSF added. (ANI)