Punjab says 2.59 million Afghans have been deported since 2023

LAHORE: The federal and Punjab governments have deported about 2.59 million Afghan nationals staying illegally in Pakistan since 2023, according to the Punjab home department.

The department said its foreign national security cell is continuing action against undocumented Afghans across the province. At present, 53 Afghan nationals are being kept at 36 operational holding centres in Punjab while their cases are processed.

According to a home department spokesman, the Punjab government has so far detained 138,342 Afghans in these centres, completed their documentation and sent them to Afghanistan. The spokesman said the federal policy was clear that anyone without a valid visa could not remain in the country and had to be deported.

The spokesman said the department had completed surveys and checks in markets and residential areas, after which undocumented Afghans were being taken into custody and shifted to holding centres. He added that accommodation, registration and arrangements for deportation through the Torkham border were being provided at the centres. The spokesman also urged Punjab residents to report illegally staying Afghans through the emergency helpline 15, saying the identity of callers would be kept confidential.