Documented foreign nationals can stay in Pakistan: Solangi

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Minister for Information and Broadcasting Murtaza Solangi on Saturday clarified that individuals with legal documents could only reside in Pakistan.

Speaking to a private TV channel, the caretaker minister reiterated that the government will not permit illegal immigrants to stay in Pakistan after 31st of this month.

Murtaza Solangi noted that no government would permit the stay of illegal immigrants in their country.

He mentioned three categories of Afghan residents residing in Pakistan currently. The first group comprised of individuals who arrived in Pakistan in 1978 and had Proof of Registration cards. While the second category included those Afghans who had been in Pakistan since 2016 and had Afghan citizen cards verified by the previous government of Afghanistan.

The third group, totaling approximately 1.7 million people, entered Pakistan after August 15, 2021, he said, adding among them, some possessed expired visas, while others had entered the country illegally.

To a question, Solangi said most of the illegal immigrants in Pakistan were from Afghanistan.

The minister emphasised that the illegal immigrants must voluntarily leave Pakistan by October 31, as the caretaker government was committed to implementing the law.

He stressed that the national interest could not be compromised for the sake of bilateral relations, underscoring that action would be taken indiscriminately against illegal activities.

Earlier, the caretaker federal government set a November 1 deadline for illegal immigrants to leave Pakistan or else face deportation.

Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that a task force has also been constituted which will take action against illegal immigrants. “Pakistan is the only country permitting entry of people even without a passport,” the minister decried.

The interior minister further explained that the assets owned by illegal immigrants would be confiscated. He pointed out that a web portal is being established to report any illegal activity related to smuggling.

“The names of those who provide any information related to illegal activities would be kept secret,” Sarfraz Bugti elaborated.

Pakistan has seen an uptick in terror activities, especially in KP and Balochistan, after the outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) ended its ceasefire with the government in November.