Sarfraz Bugti rejects ‘manhandling’ of illegal immigrants

ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Ahmed Bugti on Monday rejected any ‘manhandling’ of illegal immigrants in Pakistan’s repatriation process, ARY News reported.

“Prime Minister [Anwaarul Haq Kakar] has given very clear instructions that there should be no manhandling of illegal immigrants during repatriation process,” the interior minister said while speaking on Senate floor.

The apex committee of the National Action Plan (NAP) in a meeting on October 3, chaired by Caretaker PM Anwaarul Haq Kakar gave a deadline to all foreign nationals living illegally in the country until October 31 to leave voluntarily or face deportation.

After the expiry of the deadline, the caretaker government has swung into action against illegal immigrants. Mostly Afghan nationals staying in Pakistan as undocumented illegal immigrants.

Sarfraz Bugti also assured the House that any mismanagement on the borders will be checked and suggestions from the political leadership in this regard will be welcomed.  “No Afghan refugee having legal documents has been even touched,” he added.

He reiterated that action is only against illegal immigrants, who have no valid travel documents, and the state of Pakistan wants to end this illegality. He said anyone, who wants to come to Pakistan on valid documents will be welcomed.

The minister also dispelled the impression that illegal immigrants were being sent back abruptly, saying that the government has evolved a proper mechanism to repatriate such people.

Read More: 3,043 more illegal immigrants return Afghanistan

He said committees were formed at district level, which also includes proper feedback from a representative from the Afghan Chargé d’affaires.

Sarfaraz Bugti said the government first gave a timeframe for voluntary return under which over 2,90,000 foreign nationals return to their homeland, while only around eight thousand illegal Afghan were sent back by the government.

He said around three hundred thousand illegal citizens have so far returned to their country. “A dedicated special portal and a telephone line have been established to receive any complaints about the repatriation of illegal immigrants,” he added.

Bugti added that 569 complaints were received and 82 percent of them have become satisfied as a result of consistent follow-up.

He said Afghans and Pakistanis are tied in a common string of brotherhood and they have great respect for one another. He, however, said as foreign forces have left Afghanistan and now refugees should too return to their country.

The interior minister said that action against illegal social media Apps offering online interest based loans has been initiated. He said 111 such apps have been black listed, while a sum of 1.8 billion rupees confiscated and cases registered under cybercrime.