<p>The Pakistani administration of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) has declared a major operation to drive thousands of unauthorized Afghan residents out of Peshawar, the province capital. According to PTI, this action is a part of a continuous deportation campaign that has forced over 340,000 Afghans to flee Pakistan in recent weeks.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-283137″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-download-2023-11-18t154736.452.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com download 2023 11 18t154736.452″ width=”1238″ height=”743″ title=”The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa begins an operation to remove thousands of unauthorized Afghan residents 13″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-download-2023-11-18t154736.452.jpg 290w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-download-2023-11-18t154736.452-150×90.jpg 150w” sizes=”(max-width: 1238px) 100vw, 1238px” /></p>
<p>Speaking on Saturday, a senior KPK government official cited Pakistan’s assertion that 14 of the 24 significant terrorist incidents in the nation this year were carried out by Afghan nationals as justification for the decision to begin the massive operation. The Kabul administration, which is headed by the Taliban, has denied these accusations, however.</p>
<p>A joint meeting between Senior Superintendent of Police Kashif Abbasi and Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Fahd Wazir was held on Friday to discuss preparations for the operation. Special squads overseen by divisional SPs have been formed by the Peshawar district administration and police to remove unauthorized Afghan inhabitants.</p>
<p>The special teams have access to extensive databases and names of Afghan immigrants living in Peshawar. Their job is to apprehend Afghan citizens who do not have the required documentation and take them to Juma Khan Holding Camp in Nasir Bagh. From there, they would be sent back to Afghanistan via the Torkham border.</p>
<p>In order to guarantee a focused strategy, authorities point out that those with Afghan Citizen Cards and Proof of Registration are not subject to deportation, and specialized teams have been established to authenticate their documentation.</p>
<p>Many Afghans who have lived in Pakistan for decades have expressed worry about the deportation attempt and have asked for more time since they do not have somewhere to live in Afghanistan. Targeting an estimated 1.7 million Afghans residing in Pakistan illegally, the drive was started last month.</p>
<p>As the Taliban-led government of Afghanistan sets up a commission in Kabul to manage repatriations from Pakistan, 340,608 Afghans have returned so far, according to Bilal Karimi, the spokesman for the commission.</p>
<p>The World Health Organization (WHO) has decided to set up medical facilities at the border crossings at Torkham and Chaman in response to the unexpected surge of returns. In a statement released on Thursday, the WHO raised worries about possible disease outbreaks and the spread of wild poliovirus at entry points. They also requested USD 10 million to cover medical costs for the estimated 700,000 Afghans who are expected to return.</p>
<p>This comes as UN human rights official Volker Turk expressed concern in a recent statement about abuses that have been reported in connection with the arbitrary deportation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan. These abuses include maltreatment, arbitrary arrests, incarceration, property damage, and extortion.</p>
The government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa begins an operation to remove thousands of unauthorized Afghan residents
