United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has said on Sunday that Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees for the last over 40 years without receiving any funds in return.
On the other hand, the European Union Agency of Asylum and the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) have termed the presence of millions of illegal immigrants on Pakistani soil a threat to the country.
The report says that 1.7 million Afghans are living in the country illegally without any proof and registration. “Pakistan is not the only country which has decided to evict illegal Afghan nationals,” it says, adding, “Iran, too, in 2021 had ordered over one million Afghans to leave the country.”
Afghan nationals living in Pakistan have been facing the ire of the authorities after the apex committee a few weeks ago asked them to leave the country by October 31 or else face the music.
The decision was taken in view of their participation in incidents of violence of May 9 as well as involvement in incidents of terrorism.—INP