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Pakistan resumes process of forced deportations of undocumented Afghans
Pakistani officials said on Tuesday that they will resume the process of forced deportation of Afghan immigrants from that country.
This comes after Pakistan carried out airstrikes on residential houses in Barmal district of Paktika province and Spera district of Khost province on Sunday night.
As a result of these airstrikes, three women and three children died in Paktika and two women died in Khost.
Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate, said that by the order of the Ministry of Defense, nine Pakistani military bases were then targeted, resulting in casualties to Pakistani forces, but he did not provide specific numbers of Pakistani military casualties.
But according to Mujahid, the border clashes between the Pakistani forces and the Islamic Emirate, which started after Pakistan’s airstrikes on Afghanistan, have ended.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in January this year that more than 500,000 Afghan migrants left Pakistan without documents after Islamabad set a November deadline. According to this deadline, migrants without documents, including Afghans, must leave the country, otherwise they will be arrested.
Pakistan defended its decision citing security concerns and economic pressures in that country.
But analysts believe the goal of Islamabad is to put pressure on the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan regarding the presence of extremists, including the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), along the border between Afghanistan and Pakistan.
A high-ranking government official in Khyber-Pashtunkhwa province, who did not want to be named in the report, told AFP: “The second phase of the return of illegal Afghan immigrants will begin after Eid.”
But he added that: “The details of this stage have not been revealed yet.”
Meanwhile, a senior police official in the city of Peshawar, the capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, also confirmed to AFP that the second phase of the forced deportation operation targeting “illegal Afghans” will begin after Eid.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police forces have been ordered to identify areas where undocumented Afghans live, he said on condition of anonymity in the report.
But this high-ranking Peshawar police official said that the federal government of Khyber Pashtunkhwa province has not yet issued specific instructions on the nature of this operation.
He said that the police has already started gathering information about Afghans living in the area.
In recent decades, millions of Afghans have fled to Pakistan to escape violent conflicts.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan announced on Tuesday the release of American citizen Dennis Coyle from prison.
According to the ministry, Coyle’s mother had written to the leader of the Islamic Emirate demanding amnesty and the release of her son on the occasion of Eid. The Supreme Court considered time served sufficient and decided to release him.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs stated that this action was carried out on the basis of humanitarianism and good faith, and it believes that such measures can strengthen trust between countries. The ministry also expressed hope that both countries, in the future, can find solutions to remaining issues through mutual understanding and constructive dialogue.
The Islamic Emirate also expressed appreciation for the cooperation of the United Arab Emirates in this matter.
Separately, for Coyle’s release, an American delegation, including Zalmay Khalilzad, former U.S. Special Representative for Afghanistan, met on Tuesday with Amir Khan Muttaqi, the Foreign Minister of the Islamic Emirate.
The meeting was also attended by Saif Mohammed Al-Ketbi, Ambassador of the UAE in Kabul, and a member of the prisoner’s family.
According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Muttaqi stated that the Islamic Emirate has not detained any citizen of any country to achieve political objectives; rather, detentions were the result of legal violations, and individuals were released after completing judicial procedures.
At the meeting, Khalilzad praised the action of the Islamic Emirate and emphasized the importance of continuing discussions on all issues between the two countries, expressing hope for further progress in the future.
Muttaqi also stressed that Kabul and the UAE should provide standard consular services to their citizens, and that the Afghan government is fully prepared in this regard.
He thanked Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the UAE, for their constructive role in facilitating the release of the prisoner and referred to the UAE as a close friend of Afghanistan.
Earlier, Muttaqi had also praised the role of the State of Qatar in facilitating information exchange between the Islamic Emirate and the prisoner’s family.
Additionally, the UAE ambassador expressed his country’s readiness to play a role in humanitarian institutions and called such developments beneficial for everyone.
The United Kingdom has announced an additional £3 million (AFN 257 million) in humanitarian assistance to Afghanistan, aimed at supporting people affected by natural disasters and other shocks.
Richard Lindsay, in a post on X, said the funding will be used to provide essential nutrition supplies and related support to vulnerable populations.
The new allocation brings the UK’s total bilateral assistance to Afghanistan for the current financial year to £154 million (AFN 13.18 billion).
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