ISLAMABAD: The Interior Ministry informed the Senate on Tuesday that more than 500,000 illegal immigrants have left Pakistan so far since expiry of the deadline issued for repatriation of all illegal foreign nationals from the country.
The caretaker government had issued Oct 31 as deadline for repatriation of all undocumented immigrants from Pakistan and had since then launched a drive for deportation of illegal aliens to their respective countries.
In a written reply submitted to the Senate on Tuesday, the interior ministry elaborated on the number of deportations. The reply was submitted in response to a question by Senator Mohsin Aziz on the number of illegal residents in the country as well as the number of those deported.
“Around 1.7 million illegal aliens are unlawfully living in the country, the majority of whom are Afghans. They are living without any legal documentation necessary for staying in the country. 541,210 people have been sent back after the cabinet’s approval of the deportation plan for illegal residents,” the ministry said, adding that close to 1.15m were still residing in the country.
After the deadline lapsed, the caretaker government formally initiated a nationwide campaign to expel illegal foreign nationals, the majority of whom are Afghans. While the move had prompted criticism from Afghanistan and human rights groups, the government refused to budge, insisting that it was not aimed at any particular ethnic group.
In the reply, the ministry said that continuous efforts were under way to identify and deport the remaining people. It further said that 271,985 people were repatriated via Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and 159,161 through Balochistan.
It added that according to data from other systems such as the Integrated Border Management System, a further 110,064 had also left the country.
