Ashrafuddin Pirzada
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Tuesday issued a strict message to illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan that they should leave the country by November 1 or they would be arrested and deported after the expiration of the deadline.
Sarfaraz Bugti said: “Illegal” immigrants or “aliens” have till November 1, 2023, to leave Pakistan voluntarily.
He warned that action will be taken against those found residing in the country unlawfully.
Addressing a press conference in Islamabad after a meeting of the apex committee on the national action plan and eliminating terrorism, Bugti stressed that the caretaker government’s priority was ensuring the safety of Pakistani citizens۔
The announcement comes after a deadly suicide blast claimed the lives of at least 60 people in Balochistan’s Mastung and left several others injured last Friday.
That same day at least five people were killed in a blast inside a mosque in a police station in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa’s Hangu district.
Bugti apprised that Afghan nationals were found to be responsible for at least 14 of the 24 suicide bombings in the country this past year.
Illegal immigrants should leave before November 1 or they would face forcible expulsion, he said.
The minister further warned that businesses being run by illegal migrants would be confiscated.
All law enforcement agencies are being mobilised to eliminate terrorism and ensure the exit of illegal foreigners, he stressed
Caretaker Information Minister Murtaza Solangi also confirmed the deadline in a post on X, formerly Twitter. The minister stated, “All illegal immigrants have 28 days to leave Pakistan.”
