LAHORE/TOBA TEK SINGH: The Punjab government has decided to introduce a ‘whistle-blower system’ in a bid to deport undocumented immigrants, particularly Afghan nationals, residing in the province.

The decision was made in a meeting on law and order chaired by Chief Minister Maryam Nawaz on Thursday.

According to a statement issued by the CM’s office, Afghan citizens across the province will also be brought into the tax net and a real-time database of “illegal Afghan residents” will also be set up.

“A whistle-blower system will be introduced for illegal immigrants. The name of the informant will be kept completely confidential,” the statement said, adding that combing operations against undocumented foreigners and their businesses would also be initiated.

It said that such immigrants would be immediately deported according to the federal government’s policy.

Citizens asked to register licenced firearms with police within one month

The meeting also decided to recover illegal arms, with a one-month ultimatum issued by the home department to the owners for surrendering their illegal weapons. It asked citizens to register their legal firearms with the police within a month and also ordered arms vendors and dealers to get their stocks inspected. A complete ban on new licences was also imposed.

The Punjab government also “recommended the federal government to regularise arms factories and manufacturers”, said the statement, adding that the provincial government also enhanced the punishment for those holding illegal arms to 14 years in jail, with a fine of up to Rs2 million, and made the offence non-bailable.

A day earlier, the federal government ordered the immediate de-notification of the last 28 Afghan refugee camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing an over 40-year-long story of temporary settlements in the province to an end. A drive to expel more than 1.3 million Afghan nationals with Proof of Registration (PoR) card holders, the last category of refugees legally living in the country without visas, has been underway since Sept 1 this year.

Meanwhile, a crackdown has resumed for complete evacuation of Afghans residing illegally in Faisalabad division.

A meeting was held under the chairmanship of Commissioner Raja Jahangir Anwar on Thursday where the deputy commissioners of all four districts of the division briefed the participants on the evacuation of illegally residing Afghans in their districts and the ongoing crackdown.

The commissioner directed the DCs to take immediate action as per the standard operating procedures (SOPs) and guidelines formulated by the Punjab Home Department. He said the Afghan nationals doing businesses in Faisalabad city should be removed through enforcement and their documents should be checked.

He also directed the municipal corporation to clear the footpaths in collaboration with the Punjab Enforcement Regulatory Authority (Pera).

Meanwhile, the police sources said that in the two-day crackdown on Afghans, 47 illegal residents belonging to Afghanistan had been arrested.

Published in Dawn, October 17th, 2025