PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): The Pakistan army chief on Thursday lent his weight to government’s decision on deporting illegal foreigners, including Afghan nations.
The presence of unregistered aliens was seriously affecting Pakistan’s security and economy, Gen. Asif Munir said during a visit to Peshawar.
Last month, the caretaker government initiated a nationwide drive to deport illegal foreigners, mostly Afghans.
The move has come in for harsh criticism from Afghanistan and several other quarters, including international human rights groups.
However, Islamabad continues to stick to its guns, insisting the decision was not aimed at any particular ethnic group.
Of the more than four million Afghans living in Pakistan, 1.7m are said to be undocumented. Tens of thousands of Afghans have been deported so far.
Addressing participants of the First National Workshop Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (NWKP-1) today,: the army chief said:“Illegal foreigners were seriously affecting Pakistan’s security and economy.”
The chief of army staff said repatriating the illegal aliens was in the best interest of Pakistan. Such foreigners were being deported to their countries in a humane and dignified manner, he insisted.
According to a statement from the military’s media wing, Gen. Munir was earlier briefed on the ongoing counter-terrorism operations, repatriation of Illegal foreigners and socio-economic development of the former tribal region.
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