The World Briefly
October 05, 2023Apples and Oranges
Pakistan
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Pakistan ordered all undocumented migrants, including 1.7 million Afghans, to leave the country by next month, a crackdown that follows a surge in terrorist attacks in the country in recent months, Voice of America reported.
Officials said “all illegal migrants” should leave Pakistan by Nov. 1, threatening to deport anyone who fails to exit the South Asian country by the deadline.
The United Nations and international human rights organizations, however, have raised concerns about the potential deportation of hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees who fled Afghanistan to escape the Taliban, fearing for their lives.
The move comes as Pakistan experiences an increase in terrorist attacks, with officials saying the violence is being directed from militant sanctuaries in Afghanistan. Pakistani Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said the country has experienced 24 suicide bombings since January, adding that 14 of them were carried out by Afghan nationals.
Bugti said the involvement of Afghans in violence against Pakistan showed that “they are not honoring the edict” of the Taliban’s supreme leader, Hibatullah Akhundzada, that forbids cross-border attacks.
Pakistani officials say that militants belonging to the banned Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) have relocated to Afghanistan after the Taliban took control of the country two years ago, resulting in increased cross-border attacks. Taliban authorities in Kabul, however, deny permitting the TTP or any group to threaten neighboring countries, particularly Pakistan.
Last week, a suicide bombing at a mosque in the southwestern province of Baluchistan killed at least 52 people and injured more than 70 others, CBS News wrote. No group claimed responsibility and the TTP denied involvement in the attack.
Critics and analysts said that addressing the problem of undocumented immigrants is essential – but questioned whether Pakistan’s plans to evict Afghans will effectively combat its growing terrorism issue.
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