Peshawar:

In the midst of the ongoing repatriation drive, the Federal Ministry of the Interior has sought registration of Afghan students enrolled in educational institutions throughout Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

According to sources, the Ministry’s security cell sent an official letter to the provincial home secretary and instructed him to submit details of all Afghan students by March 27.

The letter states that the foreign national security cell updates its foreign national database and requires the information for this purpose.

The request is coming as the government intensifies its repatriation campaign against illegal foreign inhabitants and Afghan citizenship (ACC) holders.

The deadline for their departure is seven days away, with Pakistan already deporting over 876,000 undocumented Afghan citizens.

The repatriation process remains in progress.

The federal government has set 31 March as the final deadline for illegal Afghan citizens to leave the country and make sure that no abuse will occur during the process.

Authorities have also completed the events for food and health facilities for those returning to Afghanistan.

Officials have warned that strict litigation will be taken against persons who do not leave Pakistan after the deadline.

The Federal Government’s decision follows its former directives that require the departure of all illegal foreign nationals, including Afghan citizens, before March 31.

Previously, the preliminary Afghan Taliban-led administration in Kabul had appealed to Islamabad about an expansion that enabled undocumented Afghan residents of Islamabad and Rawalpindi to stay longer.

However, Pakistan rejected this request.

Afghan citizens who possess valid travel documents to move to another country are allowed to remain in Pakistan until March 31. After this deadline, they must also leave.

Those who have a valid Pakistani visa may continue their stay in the duration specified on their visa.

Reports have indicated that the government is of the opinion that the deportation of Afghan citizens has become inevitable due to security concerns and the sensitivity of the twin towns.

According to statistics released by the main commissioner of Afghan refugees (CCAR) in February, Pakistan is home to approx. 2.9 million Afghan refugees. Of these, 1.4 million is registered, while 0.7 million remains undocumented.