ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the new policy aimed at deporting illegal migrants after October 31 is not targeted at Afghan refugees but at all foreign citizens irrespective of their nationalities.
Speaking at her weekly media briefing, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch explained in categorical terms that Pakistan’s national policy on hosting around 1.4 million Afghan refugees remains unchanged.
She added that the Afghan refugees’ safe and honourable repatriation is a separate matter on which Pakistan continues to engage with Afghanistan to create a conducive environment for their safe return.
“The operation has nothing to do with 1.4 million Afghan refugees that Pakistan has been hosting since decades with exemplary generosity and hospitality despite its own constrained economic situation,” she said in response to a query when her comments were sought on the Afghan interim government spokesperson Zabihullah Mujahid’s statement.
“The behaviour of Pakistan against Afghan refugees is unacceptable. The Pakistani side should reconsider its plan. Afghan refugees are not involved in Pakistan’s security problems. As long as they leave Pakistan voluntarily, that country should tolerate them,” Mujahid had said in a statement on Wednesday while reacting to the apex committee’s decision
with regard to the
planned operation against the illegal migrants after October 31.
Baloch further explained that the ongoing action envisages the repatriation of individuals who have either overstayed their visas or do not have the valid documents to stay, adding that Pakistan
is all within the parameters of its sovereign domestic laws to take action in this context.
“Regarding the repatriation of any foreigners who may be living here illegally, laws of Pakistan will take their course. For individuals who violate Pakistani immigration laws, there are punishments in place and there are ways to deal with such cases, including repatriation to their home countries,” she added.
She further explained that the government will undertake the exercise of deportation in a phased, deliberate, and orderly manner, adding that the process will proceed depending on the number of illegal immigrants in Pakistan and the arrangements for their return to their respective countries.
In response to another question, the spokesperson also refuted media reports, claiming that Pakistan has closed transit trade with Afghanistan, saying that Pakistan-Afghanistan bilateral trade also continues but Pakistan will not accept the misuse of existing trade facilities.
“Any measures taken recently or in future will be in accordance with this understanding,” she added.
About the issue of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Afghan soil being used by the banned terror outfit, she said that has very clearly articulated its concerns over the use of Afghan soil for terrorism, adding that Pakistan believes in diplomacy and continues to engage with Afghanistan to fight the threat of terrorism.
Responding to a query about a report published in international media regarding India’s anti-Pakistan propaganda, she said that there is irrefutable evidence of India’s involvement in terrorist activities
inside Pakistan but it continues to blame Pakistan for this on fictitious grounds.
She said that as the Pakistan team is in India for the ICC Cricket World Cup, it is the responsibility of the host country to provide foolproof security and a conducive environment to the team. She further stated that Pakistan has a clear stance that sports shall not be mingled with politics and the Pakistani team is in India, not for a bilateral series but an international tournament.
About the delay in the issuance of visas by India to Pakistanis for the World Cup, she said that Pakistan is in contact with Indian authorities and expects it to immediately grant visas to Pakistani journalists and spectators who wish to watch ICC matches in India.
To another query, she confirmed that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has received formal communication from the Election Commission of Pakistan to invite international observers for the upcoming general elections. She said that the ministry will facilitate the process and invite international observers in accordance with the policy and past practice.
About the Free Trade Agreement between Pakistan and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), she said that the agreement has been concluded and this is the first such agreement by the Council with any country since 2009.
“Pakistan looks forward to early ratification and implementation of the agreement, which will enhance Pakistan’s exports to gulf countries and mark a new chapter in its economic relations with the GCC,” she added.
Asked if there is any discussion underway with regard to the normalisation of ties with Israel, she said that Pakistan’s position and policy on the Palestine issue are clear and consistent.
“We do not believe that the time has come to pronounce on any new policy. Pakistan will continue to make decisions according to its own national interest,” she said.
She reiterated Pakistan’s position on Palestine, saying that a two-state solution is essential for peace in the Middle East.
“We believe that the people of Palestine have a right to an independent state as per the UN resolutions, a state which is within the parameters of pre-1967 borders,” she added.
Asked whether the recent telephonic contact of the British foreign secretary with the caretaker prime minister was a new set of protocol for Pakistani leadership to engage with a lower grade Western officials, she explained that the telephone call took place soon after the meeting between the prime minister of Pakistan and the foreign secretary of the United Kingdom in London during which they had established a “personal rapport”.
“It was in that context that the telephone exchange took place,” she added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2023
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