ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court (SC) on Wednesday accepted a constitutional petition for hearing against forced deportation of Afghan citizens.
SC’s Justice Yahya Afridi took up the petition hearing and termed the objections raised by the Registrar Office legal in nature, saying “the same be addressed by a court of law”. The petition was later allotted a number for preliminary hearing.
Umer Gilani, the counsel for the petitioners’, has moved an application seeking early hearing of the matter.
Earlier in November, a petition was filed before the apex court seeking a restraining order against the forceful deportation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan.
The petition sought a restraining order on forceful deportation or harassment of anyone born in Pakistan and having a claim to birthright citizenship in accordance with section 4 of the Citizenship Act, 1951 and ruling of the Islamabad High Court (IHC).
Former senator Farhatullah Babar and other petitioners urged the apex court’s Registrar Office to allot a case number and schedule a date for a hearing.
However, the office refused to entertain the petition.
Govt crackdown
The federal government initiated a crackdown against “undocumented” Afghan nationals – essentially persons seeking refuge in the country and awaiting legal formalities.
Since November 1, 2023, the state has begun a campaign to forcibly evict around 1.3 million such persons under the garb of addressing the issue of “illegal migrants” on whom it has placed the burden of the country’s worsening economic and security concerns.
