Punjab repatriates 143,474 Afghan nationals, home department says

LAHORE: The Punjab Home Department said it has repatriated 143,474 Afghan nationals from the province under the federal government's campaign against undocumented foreign residents, according to figures the department released this week.

The department's Foreign National Security Wing put the nationwide total of repatriated Afghan nationals at 2,807,250.

A senior Home Department official said law enforcement agencies had carried out more than 400,000 search operations in residential areas and commercial markets across Punjab, including Rawalpindi Division, to identify foreign nationals without valid documents.

During those operations, 803 cases were registered against property owners accused of renting premises to Afghan nationals living in the country illegally.

Thirty-nine holding centres are currently operating across Punjab, the department said. They are housing 153 Afghan nationals, who are held there for temporary accommodation, biometric registration and the administrative paperwork needed before deportation. Once those formalities are complete, the individuals are handed to Afghan authorities at the Torkham border crossing.

A Home Department spokesperson said Afghan nationals without valid visas are not permitted to stay in Pakistan under the government's repatriation policy. He said the operation targets only those residing in the country illegally, and that the figures reflect the provincial government's administrative measures and coordination with the national policy.

The department urged residents to report illegal residence, identity fraud or suspicious activity through Emergency Helpline 15, and said the identities of informants would be kept confidential. Its Foreign National Security Wing is monitoring implementation across the province.

Pakistan has pressed ahead with the removals as the federal government continues its wider drive against undocumented foreign nationals, most of them Afghans. Officials have repeatedly said the campaign applies to those without legal status and not to documented refugees.

Punjab's interior districts, particularly Rawalpindi and Lahore, have accounted for a large share of the searches and detentions. The department's figures cover the province's divisions but do not break the returns down by district.