Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Friday announced that no Afghan refugee would be deported “forcefully” from the northwestern region of the country.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, the KP CM said: “No Afghan refugee will be expelled by force from KP. We are against such kind of forcible deportation of Afghan refugees.”
His remarks came at a time when the federal government has started the process of repatriating undocumented refugees and Afghan Citizen Card (ACCs) holders, as the deadline for their voluntary return ended on March 31, 2025.
During his interaction with journalists, CM Gandapur said: “We have cultural and historical traditions regarding Afghan refugees,” adding that those refugees who wish to leave voluntarily would be provided with resources to facilitate their return with respect.
Responding to a question, the chief minister said that the only way forward with Afghanistan is through negotiations.
Raising questions over the intentions of the Centre, the KP CM said that they were still waiting for the for the federal government to approve the terms of reference (TOR) to initiate talks with the interim Afghanistan government led by the Afghan Taliban.
It is pertinent to mention here that the KP government had planned to send a provincial jirga to Kabul to address the bilateral issues, including the cross-border attacks and use of Afghan soil by terrorists.
CM Gandapur said that stability in the region was linked with peace in Afghanistan. He said that PTI had the solution to the menace of terrorism being faced by the country.
Responding to the incumbent government’s allegations about the resettlement of terrorists and the resurgence of militancy in the country, the CM termed the statements from the treasury benches “extremely irresponsible”.
Meanwhile, District Central Police Karachi on Friday started crackdown against all those Afghan nationals who are residing in Pakistan illegally.
On the directives from Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Central New Karachi police arrested several illegal Afghan nationals during on-going crackdown.
In the new crackdown, all those Afghan people who are living with Afghan citizen card holder will also be repatriated. Federal Interior Ministry also tasked the provincial governments to repatriate all illegal Afghan nationals after expiry. The report revealed that currently there are 99,857 illegal Afghan nationals residing in Punjab. There are 35,235 Afghan Citizen Card Holders living in Punjab illegally while 8282 Afghans living in Lahore.
