Pakistan deports more than 6,500 Afghans; total repatriated to Afghanistan touches 1,70,000: Official

More than 6,500 Afghan nationals left Pakistan through the Torkham border on November 5, taking the total number of repatriated Afghans to more than 1,70,000, border officials said on November 6. The voluntary evacuation has been going on since the government gave an ultimatum to all unregistered foreign nationals to leave Pakistan by November 1 after which action would be taken against them according to law.

More than 6,500 Afghan nationals left Pakistan through the Torkham border on November 5, taking the total number of repatriated Afghans to more than 1,70,000, border officials said on November 6.

The voluntary evacuation has been going on since the government gave an ultimatum to all unregistered foreign nationals to leave Pakistan by November 1 after which action would be taken against them according to law.

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A total of 1,74,358 Afghan nationals left for Afghanistan since September 17, adding that voluntary repatriation was still under way, but the number was dropping with each passing day, the Dawn newspaper reported, quoting officials.

"There was a huge number of illegal immigrants at the border crossing soon after the deadline expired. It is now coming down,” an official involved in processing voluntary repatriation of Afghan nationals said.

According to official data, 6,584 Afghans, including women and children, exited Pakistan on Sunday.

On Saturday, 209 deportees from different prisons across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab were sent back along with 46,936 men, 35,507 women and 85,331 children.