Peshawar:
Ali Amin Gandapur, Prime Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), has asked the government to grant citizens to Afghan citizens instead of deporting them.
“The Afghan refugees are our neighbors. Once we receive them with open arms, but now we are following a failed policy,” said Gandapur, a PTI leader, on Sunday, while we headed to a press conference after organizing an IFTar dinner in the house of the main minister of the KP.
On March 9, Pakistan issued a deadline of 24 days for Afghan migrants to leave the country voluntarily, warning that those who remain after March 31 will face forced deportation, according to a statement from the Ministry of Interior.
The directive applies to the holders of the Afghan Citizen Card (ACC), as well as all undocumented Afghan. The statement also warned that as of April 1, the authorities would launch a national operation to expel the remaining Afghan immigrants.
“The holders of the ACC must abandon Pakistan before March 31, 2025. All holders of undocumented foreign citizens who voluntarily come out before this deadline are advised. The deportation process will begin on April 1, 2025,” reads the statement.
Speaking on the subject, Gandapur firmly opposed the deportation of Afghanos, qualifying him as an unworthy approach. He urged the Government to reconsider their decision and avoid forced removals.
“I oppose the expulsion of the Afghan that reside in our province. Terms of reference (Tor) have been sent to the Ministries of Foreign and Interior Affairs for negotiations with Afghanistan, but no response has not yet been received. Meanwhile, my proposal for conversations was criticized and taken as a joke.”
Gandapur also criticized the federal government, blaming its incompetence for the deterioration of the security situation in KP and Baluchistan.
“They must review and change their policies; otherwise, it will not take long for the conditions similar to those of 1971,” he warned.
In addition, he claimed that the establishment had put everything at stake just to suppress a political party: PTI. Gandapur rejected the claims that the founder of PTI, Imran Khan, was responsible for the current crisis in the country.
By discussing the financial performance of his government, the principal minister declared that when his administration took over, there was not even enough money to pay government salaries worth 15 days.
“Now, we have a surplus of RS169 billion. We have eliminated the 72 billion rupees in installments, we increase the resources by 55%and reduce the debt of the province of RS552 billion to RS50 billion. We have also initiated investments in several sectors, including RS167 billion in the electricity sector.”
During Ramazan, he said, the Government distributed RS20 billion among the disadvantaged and duplicate children’s stipend and the increase in Zakat payments from RS12,000 to RS25,000.
