VOA News | Tuesday, October 3, 2023 
Pakistan to Begin Deportation of 1.7 Million Undocumented Afghans

ISLAMABAD, PAKISTAN — Pakistan has ordered all undocumented immigrants, including 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by November 1, vowing mass deportations for those who stay. Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar approved the plan Tuesday at a high-level meeting of his top civilian and military officials in Islamabad. “All illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan have until November 1 to return to their countries voluntarily,” Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti told a post-meeting news conference. “And if they fail to leave by the deadline, all our state law enforcement agencies will unleash an operation with full-throttle to deport them.” Bugti did not share any numbers for undocumented immigrants in Pakistan, but he estimated that more than 1.7 million Afghans are among them. He said the officials have also decided that Afghans may enter Pakistan only with a valid passport and visa starting November 1…Read more