KARACHI: A sessions court has ordered deportation of two Afghan nationals after serving four-month imprisonment for living in Pakistan without legal documents.

Additional District and Sessions Judge Shahid Ali Memon convicted Naseebullah and Abdullah under Section 14 of the Foreigners Act 1946.

The court sentenced them to four-month imprisonment for their unlawful stay in the country, with instructions for their deportation “upon completion of their sentences in accordance with the law and after fulfilling all legal formalities”.

“The central jail authority and the Home Department of the Sindh are hereby strictly directed to make necessary arrangements for their deportation to Afghanistan as per law,” the judge ruled.

According to state prosecutor Pervaiz Hussain Solangi, in Sept 2023, within the jurisdiction of the Risala police station, law enforcement personnel apprehended the two accused near Nishtar Road. Upon inquiry about their identification, they had failed to produce any documentation for their stay in the country.

During the trial, the prosecutor had produced six witnesses before the court to prove its case.

In their rebuttal the defence counsel submitted that his clients had possessed valid documents for their stay, but the police had tampered with their credentials.

The judge noted, “I have gone through their cross-examination and found that the defence counsel did not give any suggestion regarding destroying the cards of the accused by police.”

The court also observed that the defence counsel had never asked the arresting officer and IO about destroying the cards of accused persons; therefore, the arguments of the defence counsel were unsubstantiated.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2024