Security stepped up at Afghan holding centre in Pindi

RAWALPINDI: Authorities have strengthened security at the Afghan holding centre in Dhoke Syedan as the federal government’s July 10 deadline approaches for action against Afghan nationals staying in Pakistan without valid visas.

According to police sources, the security arrangements at the holding facility, established at the Government Associate College for Boys in Dhoke Syedan, were reviewed 72 hours before the deadline. A fresh security plan has been prepared under which 55 police personnel have been deployed in three shifts, while Elite Force commandos have also been assigned to the site.

As part of the arrangements, barbed wire has been placed around the centre and CCTV cameras and searchlights installed to monitor movement. An ambulance and Rescue 1122 firefighters have also been stationed there for emergency response. Women police personnel have been deployed as well to facilitate female Afghan nationals being held at the centre.

The three police shifts will run from 8am to 4pm, 4pm to midnight, and midnight to 8am. Personnel have been posted at the main gate, the main entrance, the academic block and the rear side of the block. A verification desk has also been set up to record the details of Afghan nationals brought in by police. At that desk, their mobile phones are being taken into custody and are to be returned when they are deported to Afghanistan.

Police sources said food is being provided to Afghans at the facility, while Nadra staff, district administration representatives and medical staff are present at the holding centre. According to the same sources, 6,813 Afghan nationals have been brought to the centre so far and 6,763 have been deported. Some were released after verification.

At present, 48 Afghan nationals are housed at the centre, including 27 men, 10 women and 11 children. Police sources added that five Afghan nationals were brought to the facility from Gujarat on Tuesday.

The federal government has already directed provincial governments, the Gilgit-Baltistan and AJK administrations, and the Islamabad commissioner to speed up the repatriation and deportation of Afghan nationals, including visa overstay cases, and to strictly enforce the illegal foreigners’ repatriation plan. Law enforcement agencies have been instructed to immediately detain any undocumented Afghan national found in the country after July 10, while authorities have also sought daily reports from agencies from July 11 on the number of Afghan nationals found without valid visas, the action taken against them and their current status.