Peshawar police detain 1,200 illegal Afghan citizens

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): During the past two week, 1,200 Afghan citizens living unlawfully in the capital of Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have been arrested.

The 1,200 illegal Afghans were detained in different parts of Peshawar over a period of two weeks, Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Abbas Majeed Marwat said in an interview.

Speaking to The News, he said police had been ordered not to bother the Afghans with proof of registration (PoR) cards or are travelling on valid documents.

“The officers are taken to task when any case of harassing an Afghan with a PoR card or legal document comes to our knowledge,” Marwat said, adding some Afghans had made fake computerised national identity cards.

“In such cases, due process is followed and legal action taken after verification from NADRA (National Database & Registration Authority),” the SSP added.

Provincial police chief Nasir Khan Durrani and other officials have suggested many times those crossing the border must be issued temporary passes or visas so that they could be registered.

Health visa counters be set up at the Torkham border to allow the patients coming to Pakistani hospitalsimmediately after being registered. This will help stop the entry of criminals and terrorists.

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