ISLAMABAD: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that the plan to repatriate illegal immigrants living in the country will stay unchanged and the deadline set for all illegal aliens to leave will not be extended.

“The government’s position is very clear….The deadline for voluntary return of illegal foreigners to their home countries is 31st of October and from the 1st of November, the repatriation plan kicks in as per Pakistani laws,” FO spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told a weekly briefing.

In reply to a question, she confirmed that a briefing session was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for foreign missions on the illegal foreigners’ repatriation plan (IFRP).

She said that secretary of interior Aftab Durrani and acting Foreign Secretary Ambassador Rahim Hayat Qureshi gave the briefing.

Elaborating key points of the briefing, she said the government had announced the plan on Sept 26 to repatriate all illegal and undocumented foreigners, including those who have overstayed their visas, with effect from November 1.

“Every country has similar laws to regulate movement of foreign nationals. The repatriation of illegal foreigners is a purely administrative and legal matter and it will be dealt under the prevailing laws of Pakistan.”

The FO spokesperson said that all foreign nationals legally living and registered in Pakistan were beyond the purview of this plan.

“The government remains committed to a thorough implementation of the IFRP in a phased and orderly manner and an elaborate institutional mechanism has been established to address any instances of harassment and maltreatment during the implementation of the plan,” she said.

Ms Baloch said the mechanism includes establishment of helplines at the federal and provincial levels to report any incident for immediate redress and formation of a high-level coordination committee at the ministry of interior to oversee the implementation of IFRP.

Answering another question, she said Pakistan welcomes the joint communique released after the OIC Executive Committee Meeting on Palestine.

The meeting reflects the consensus of the OIC countries and, among other demands, it has called for immediate cessation of hostilities, lifting of the siege and for establishment of humanitarian corridors for the people of Gaza.

When asked to comment on guarantor mechanism idea put forward by Turkiye to end the conflict between Palestinians and Israel, she said: “Pakistan welcomes all initiatives that can contribute to our ultimate objective of immediate ceasefire and lifting of blockade and provision of humanitarian assistance to the people of Gaza.

“The initiatives taken by Turkiye and other countries which aim for peace merit discussion and consideration. We also hope consensus arises which can contribute to the ultimate outcome of peace that we all desire”.

“Pakistan has always called for peace and dialogue with all countries … It has never initiated a war against any country,” Ms Baloch said.

Published in Dawn, October 20th, 2023