Rawalpindi: Authorities in Pakistan on Friday deported over 200 Afghan refugees to their home country as the deadline of March 31 of deportation approaches, reports said.
Reports reaching said that out of the 923 individuals arrested in Rawalpindi, 213 were deported to Afghanistan, according to local media reports on Thursday.
This deportation comes before the March 31 deadline set by the Pakistani government.
As Islamabad launched the arrest and detention of refugees, as many as 923 Afghan nationals were shifted to the Afghan refugee holding centre near the Golra Mor in Rawalpindi, Pakistan’s leading daily, Dawn reported, quoting sources.
However, 22 of the arrested detainees escaped from the centre on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the centre had no inmates, according to the reports.
Among the total number of Afghan refugees detained, 86 had their visas expired, 116 had Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), and 290 possessed Proof of Registration (PoR).
A senior police official told Dawn that it was very clear that ACC holders would be expelled from Rawalpindi and Islamabad before the deadline.
Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has decided against extending the March 31 deadline for Afghan nationals to leave the country.
Earlier, Islamabad had turned down the Afghan government’s request to extend the stay of Afghan nationals residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.