Repatriation policy not centric to only Afghan immigrants: PM Kakar

LAHORE: Caretaker Prime Minister (PM) Anwaarul Haq Kakar on Monday said that the government’s repatriation policy was not centric to only Afghan immigrants, residing illegally in Pakistan but encompassed all those undocumented foreigners, ARY News reported.

Interacting with students of Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS), the caretaker PM said as per government’s policy and relevant laws, they were sending back all the illegal aliens and foreigners from the soil of Pakistan.

PM Kakar elaborated that Pakistan had hosted about 5 million Afghan refugees on its soil for the last 40 years under the Geneva Convention, even though it was not a signatory to that.

He said more than 1 million foreigners had been categorized as illegal who had been staying in Pakistan without legal and valid documents.

“They were being encouraged to return to their native countries”, he said, adding if they wanted to return to Pakistan with the required legal documents and valid visas, there would be no restriction.

Replying to a question regarding an incident involving Afghan nationals, the caretaker prime minister said that he had already given direction to the relevant authorities of the interior ministry to ensure dignity of the repatriated women and children as there might be vulnerable groups.

“Pakistan had entertained on its soil for decades those Afghans that had been registered as refugees and compared the treatment meted out to immigrants’ boats in the Mediterranean Sea,” he added.

To a query, PM Kakar maintained that in various terrorists’ incidents, certain groups were involved and referred to a suicide attack in a mosque in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in which the suicide bomber was identified from DNA tests as Afghan national.

He clarified that all Afghans were not terrorists but involvement of certain groups in illegal activities was a part of the problem, adding it was the prime responsibility of the government to protect the lives of its people which was also a constitutional obligation.

The caretaker prime minister said that governments’ policies were framed after institutional inputs from different institutions and departments.

Replying to a student’s question, he said that the caretaker government was a product of a constitutional order after the former leader of the house and leader of opposition in the previous National Assembly adopted a constitutional procedure and agreed upon his nomination.

He said that the previous parliament had passed a law in which the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) was mandated to announce an election date.

“It is the mandate of the ECP and not of the Caretaker Prime Minister to set a date for the general elections,” he said, adding if he was mandated under the constitution, he would have given the same.

PM Kakar further said that the caretaker government would assist the ECP with provision of finances and security for a smooth process and ensure to fulfill their constitutional duty.

About delay in Punjab and KP polls, the prime minister said that the matter did not pertain to the tenure of the interim set up and referred to Article 254 of the Constitution which said that any delay or failure to comply with the legal requirement as to time, did not render an act invalid or unconstitutional because it happened late.

The caretaker federal government set a November 1 deadline for illegal immigrants to leave the country or else face deportation.