By Ashrafuddin Pirzada
LANDIKOTAL: Assistant Commissioner Afrasiab Zubair held a jirga with Shinwari Khogakhel elders and said the government would act against Afghan citizens living and doing business in Landikotal after the deadline for their stay expired, officials said on Thursday.
Talking to the Lead Pakistan assistant commissioner, Afrasiab Zubair, said that they had called a jirga of Khugakhel tribe elders, where mostly Afghan citizens residing and doing business in their different marketplaces.
The official said they have informed
The Jirga about the state policy regarding Afghan refugees. He said a large number of Afghan traders running businesses in Landikotal and Torkham Bazaars, who own expensive houses and reside in nearby villages in Landikotal they must possess valid passports and visas and conduct their business through legal means. To a question, he said that they were not yet directed to take action against those who possess Pakistani national identity cards and passports.
An official, Naveed Alam Shalmani, said that a total of 3610 Afghan families have Afghan Citizen Card(ACC) cards, while 62 families were residing with Proof of Registration(PoR) in Landikotal tehsil.
According to Malik Tajuddin Shinwari, who was part of the jirga with the assistant commissioner, Afghan citizens holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) or Proof of Registration (PoR) cards must also obtain passports and visas. He said as per the government directives, legal action would be taken against violators after August 31 if they failed to comply.
Officials said roughly around 12000 Afghan families were residing in the district Khyber, including in Kam Shalman, Loy Shalman and Bazaar Zakhakhel border villages, with a large number of areas declared.
