KARACHI: Defence Minister Khawaja Asif has claimed that Afghan nationals living in Pakistan had managed to join the army, with one individual even reaching the rank of captain, before they were dismissed.

The minister made this revelation during an interview with DawnNewsTV earlier this week.

Mr Asif added that during his stint as the defence minister during the previous PML-N tenure, he signed files to dismiss Afghan citizens who were serving in the army.

“One of them was [a] captain and another was [a] lieutenant,” the minister said while referring to the ranks of commissioned officers.

He added that the officers’ father wrote a letter claiming that even though he was an Afghan national, he had been living in Pakistan for years and had properties and business in Quetta.

The minister said that all over the world, borders with neighbouring countries have sanctity. “But there is no sanctity of the Durand Line.”

“Anyone can enter our nation, live here for years, get ID cards and even join the army,” he added.

The defence minister said Pakistan wants similar border crossing protocols with Afghanistan as it has with India.

Published in Dawn, March 20th, 2024