ISLAMABAD: On Wednesday, former National Assembly member Mohsin Dawar, Senator Mushtaq Ahmad Khan, and Farhatullah Babar initiated a legal challenge in the Supreme Court against the decision to expel Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
This petition was filed in the Supreme Court under Article 184(3) of the constitution, contesting the directive issued by the Apex Committee and the caretaker government regarding the deportation of Afghan refugees, asylum seekers, and other immigrants.
Pakistan has scheduled the initiation of these expulsions for November 1, which could put over 1.7 million Afghan individuals at risk in the South Asian nation, out of a total population of more than 4 million migrants and refugees from neighboring Afghanistan.
The petitioners have named the federal and all provincial governments, the National Database and Registration Authority, as well as the foreign and interior ministries as parties in their legal action. In their petition, they argued that individuals born in Pakistan should be granted citizenship, asserting that the expulsion of documented immigrants contravened the law.
Authorities began apprehending illegal refugees on Wednesday following the expiration of the voluntary return deadline. These refugees are being transferred to detention centers that have been established throughout the country.
The Ministry of Interior has authorized the arrest of illegal refugees now that the deadline has passed, extending this authority to the arrest of foreign nationals residing illegally in Pakistan. The Ministry of Interior has issued clear instructions, through a notification, to the relevant authorities, emphasizing the utilization of every available option, including the arrest of such illegal foreign residents, to implement the government’s decision.
