LAHORE: The Punjab government on Saturday handed over a second batch of 196 Afghan nationals, including eight from Lahore, to the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa police for onward deportation.

In the first batch 84 Afghans were deported on Friday.

All the Afghan nationals deported so far had no documents to show.

The Punjab government has detained 400 more illegal Afghan nationals besides 600 already detained at holding centres. The detained Afghans include women and children.

While the data of Afghan nationals residing in Punjab suggests their maximum concentration in Rawalpindi and Lahore, the Lahore district administration seems lagging behind in combing the illegal foreigners for their deportation.

The home department says some 3,000 Afghan nationals were rounded up but most of them were released as they showed their legal documents.

However, complaints against the Lahore police were piling up as various Afghan nationals alleged that they were released after paying some Rs15,000 to Rs20,000 to police. They still fear that they may be picked in the next phase.

When contacted, a senior home department official acknowledged that there were some complaints about police extorting money from Afghan nationals including those, who have legal documents.

“The complaints are being shared with the police top brass for investigation and action,” the officer said.

Published in Dawn, November 5th, 2023