ISLAMABAD: Pakistan sent back 350 Afghan nationals on Thursday who were living in the country unlawfully.
A total of 16 trucks carrying 30 Afghan families arrived at the Torkham border in the Khyber district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees in Islamabad confirmed this development. These returning Afghan families consisted of 350 Afghan nationals. Authorities said they will be permitted to re-enter the country after completing the necessary legal formalities.
Of the 4.4 million Afghan nationals in Pakistan, approximately 1.42 million possess valid registration documentation. Among them, 0.85 million hold Afghan citizen cards, while 1.73 million are undocumented Afghan nationals. The refugee outflow is expected to increase leading up to the November 1 deadline.
Pakistan recently established a deadline of November 1 for all undocumented refugees to sell their properties and depart the country.
Earlier on the same day, Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch clarified that the ongoing operation targeting undocumented refugees is not specific to Afghan refugees or any particular nationality.
Baloch also made it clear that Pakistan’s policy regarding the approximately 1.4 million Afghan refugees hosted in the country remains unchanged. She emphasized that their repatriation is a separate matter.
Pakistan is actively engaging with Afghanistan to create a favorable environment for their voluntary return.
In a separate diplomatic development, caretaker Foreign Minister Jalil Jilani held a meeting with Afghan Acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi in Tibet, China. Jilani was in China to attend the third China Tibet Trans-Himalayan Forum.
US fighter jet shoots down Turkish drone in Syria
Meanwhile, for the first time, the US fighter jet shot down an armed drone of a NATO ally, Turkiye on Thursday. The Pentagon reported that the United States had intercepted an armed Turkish drone operating in close proximity to its troops in Syria. This marked the first instance of Washington taking down an aircraft belonging to its NATO ally, Turkiye.
A Turkish defense ministry official mentioned that the downed drone was not affiliated with the Turkish armed forces.
Following a recent bomb attack in Ankara, Turkey’s National Intelligence Agency conducted strikes against Kurdish militant targets in Syria.
On Thursday night, Turkish military airstrikes targeted 30 Kurdish militant sites in northern Syria, including an oil well, storage facility, and shelters. It led to killing of several militants, as announced by the Turkish defense ministry.
Pentagon spokesperson Brigadier General Pat Ryder noted that Turkish drones had been observed conducting airstrikes near US troops in Hasakah, Syria. Later in the day, a Turkish drone approached within half a kilometer (0.3 miles) of US troops. It posed a threat and prompting F-16 aircraft to intercept and down it.
