Afghan artists challenge expulsion from Pakistan amid crackdown on illegal immigrants. A petition was submitted to the Peshawar High Court (PHC) by a group of Afghan artists disputing the Pakistani government’s decision to expel the undocumented Afghan nationals.
Sarfaraz Bugti, the interim interior minister, announced earlier this month that the government would expel all foreigners living there illegally, including Afghans.
As Afghan artists challenge expulsion from Pakistan amid crackdown on illegal immigrants, until November 1, everyone who is in Pakistan illegally must leave, the minister stated in a press conference.
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The artists claimed that after the announcement of the eviction of illegal immigrants, the roundup of Afghan refugees continued.
They asked the high court to enforce the UNHCR agreements and to halt the detention of Afghan nationals.
The PHC has been asked to issue a directive ordering the government to halt the detention and forcible removal of Afghan refugees pending the outcome of the petition.
The petition has added the federal government, provincial governments, NADRA, and other parties.
Afghans who temporarily reside in Pakistan are Afghan nationals who have registered as refugees and asylum seekers in Pakistan. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is in charge of them. In Pakistan during the previous four decades, the majority of them were born and raised.
