KARACHI, April 4: The authorities have since last week deported 638 Afghans who had travelled to Saudi Arabia for Haj on fake Pakistani documents, an official said on Wednesday.

The authorities sent 302 Afghans back home on Wednesday after deporting 336 last week, said Mumtaz Awan, Deputy Superintendent of the Karachi Central Prison.

“These people are not criminals. They basically wanted to fulfil a religious obligation but couldn’t do it from home for various reasons,” Mr Awan said.

One of those being deported, Sher Mohammad, said it was easier for Afghans to get fake Pakistani documents than to make the trip legally from home.

“We have no proper system for many of our people to perform Haj... so our people prefer to pay bribes to agents in Peshawar and Quetta to get Pakistani documents quickly,” he said.

Another Afghan, Faiz Ullah, said he had paid Rs120,000 to a Pakistani agent to get his documents.

The Afghans were being sent home by bus.—Reuters