SARAJEVO: Bosnia and Herzegovina has deported the first group of migrants from Pakistan back to their home country, said the Ministry of Security of that nation on Sunday.
Sarajevo thus became the first country on the western Balkans migration route to deport migrants without residence permits.
The deportation process was enabled due to the Readmission Agreement, signed between BiH and Pakistan in November 2020, and the protocol on implementation of this agreement that came into force in July 2021, the ministry said.
The deportation “demonstrates the determination of Sarajevo to oppose all forms of illegal migrations and send back all who don’t meet requirements for receiving international protection,” said the ministry.
More groups are expected to be deported soon, the ministry added.
Since 2015, tens of thousands of refugees and migrants have been trying to make their way into the countries of the European Union (EU) via the Balkan Route, one of the main migratory paths into Europe.
A total of 3,865 migrants have been registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina in the January-April period, about 5 percent less year on year. Of the total migrants registered by Bosnian authorities, about 76 percent come from Afghanistan, Pakistan and Bangladesh, according to the ministry.
A total of 1,433 people tried to enter Bosnia and Herzegovina illegally over the first four months of this year, a drop of 32 percent from the same period last year, according to the Border Police.
