KARACHI: The government machinery employed to identify illegal immigrants and facilitate their repatriation or deportation faced immense hardship in undertaking the process mainly due to a lack of verification devices and record of foreigners, sources said on Thursday.

The sources said that the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) officials deputed at the transit centre, at Old Haji Camp, here did not have any record of illegal immigrants and had only one identification device to deal with several hundred men, women and children brought to the place over the last 48 hours.

“They [Nadra officials] possessed the records of only those persons who had valid identity cards,” the sources said.

Over 110 transported to Chaman under police guard

The process took many hours to complete the exercise as some 200 foreigners, mainly Afghans, were brought to the centre on Thursday by police and FIA officials, they said.

The sources said that in order to demonstrate their efficiency, the district administration through police detained another 200 suspected illegal immigrants during the day.

They underwent an identification process and the documents, like Afghan Citizenship card, produced by most of them appeared valid as the district or local police did not have any device to verify the documents. As such, a decision to repatriate them or otherwise had to be put off till Dec 31.

The sources said that the authorities concerned did realise gravity of issues arising out of the very slow process of verification due to unavailability of an adequate number of the device.

They believed that the process might gain momentum within a week after provision of one device to each of the districts.

Crackdown continues

Over 200 more Afghans were detained by police across the metropolis on a second consecutive day, Thursday, but most of them were let off on different grounds, official sources confirmed.

Informed sources said that a day earlier, as many Afghans were detained and sent to the transit centres established at Haji Camp and Boys Scouts Hostel in Sultanabad for verification process.

One woman was in seventh month of her pregnancy and a lady doctor, who examined her, advised her not to travel by road.

Therefore, she and her family was not repatriated. Many more produced their Afghan Citizenship card to avoid being deported.

A total of 112 Afghans, however, were transported to Chaman (Balochistan), by four buses for their repatriation to their home country.

Each of the buses was guarded by three suitably armed policemen and FIA officials.

Meanwhile, South-DIG Syed Asad Raza told Dawn that around 50 more illegal Afghan nationals were brought to the centres on Thursday and were likely be sent to Chaman after their verification.

Published in Dawn, November 3rd, 2023