Pakistan said Friday that it would deport all undocumented immigrants, including 1.7 million Afghans, in a “phased and orderly” manner, as it sought to allay fears of mass arrests and deportations.
On Tuesday, the government ordered all foreigners residing illegally in Pakistan to return to their respective countries by November 1 or face deportation, a move Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers swiftly decried as “inhumane.” Global human rights groups also called on Pakistani authorities to review the decision.
Foreign Ministry spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch defended the policy Friday while responding to the criticism, saying that the decision to expel illegal migrants was in line with “our sovereign domestic laws,” and that the government was determined to enforce them.
Baloch told reporters in Islamabad the crackdown was not directed against Afghans only, saying it would target all foreigners who were overstaying their visas and did not possess valid documentation.
“This policy will apply to all individuals of all nationalities, and there is no discrimination in that respect,” she said. Baloch underscored that the campaign would not target the 1.4 million legal Afghan refugees hosted by Pakistan for years.
“The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees in Pakistan has registered them, and they are considered documented individuals,” she said.