Repatriation of illegal foreigners to continue without any reconsideration: FO

Celina Ali

Islamabad: Pakistan on Thursday calling the policy on repatriation of illegal foreigners consistent with domestic laws and international norms, reiterated that the process would continue in an orderly and phased manner without any reconsideration.

“The policy is very clear… Individuals who are illegals, who do not possess legal documents, who have overstayed their visas will be repatriated. So, there is, at this point, no reconsideration of the policy,” Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch said in her weekly press briefing a day after the policy came into effect over the expiry of the October 31 deadline.

She explained that the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP) applied to all foreigners residing illegally in Pakistan, irrespective of their nationality and country of origin. However, it was not applicable to individuals enjoying refugee status. Asked about the number of countries whose nationals were being repatriated, the spokesperson said it could be approximately a dozen, or maybe slightly fewer.

She said the government was in contact with those countries and the lists provided by such countries were under discussion between the two sides. She said the government was also engaged with a number of countries, including the United States, with respect to Afghan individuals who were to be resettled in third countries. “These consultations continue and Pakistan has impressed on these governments to expedite their visas and approval processes so that they can leave for their destinations without further delay.”

Spokesperson Mumtaz Baloch expressed deep concerns about the dire situation in occupied Palestine and said Israel’s relentless and indiscriminate bombing campaign, the inhumane siege of Gaza, and deliberate strikes against civilian targets including refugee camps, hospitals and apartment buildings had created an unacceptable humanitarian situation. “For the last 3 weeks, the massacre of Palestinians continues unabated, with the death of over 8000 civilians of which 70 percent are women and children.

These war crimes are being perpetrated by the Israeli occupation forces with full impunity as the international community continues to repeatedly fail the people of Palestine,” the spokesperson commented. She also highlighted a resolution adopted by the Senate of Pakistan on Wednesday in which the members strongly condemned Israeli crimes against humanity perpetrated against the people in occupied Gaza. It also expressed full solidarity and support for the Palestinian people.

She reiterated Pakistan’s call on the international community to play its part in bringing an end to the atrocities in occupied Palestine. The UN General Assembly resolution of last week reflects the growing international consensus on the situation of Palestine, she said expressing the hope that the momentum would lead to an early end to the carnage in Gaza. “The UN Security Council must act and fulfill its responsibility of upholding peace. It must call for lifting the siege, protecting civilians, and facilitating humanitarian corridors for provision of uninterrupted relief supplies for the beleaguered people of Gaza.”

She told the media that Pakistan had sent humanitarian assistance for the Palestinian people and was currently working to send another consignment of assistance. The spokesperson also announced that Caretaker Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar would pay an official visit to Tashkent, Uzbekistan to participate in the 16th Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO) Summit November 8-9. At the Summit, he would reaffirm Pakistan’s commitment to ECO Vision 2025 and present Pakistan’s vision for the future work of the organization and for the promotion of regional connectivity and mutual prosperity, besides engaging in bilateral discussions with the leadership of Uzbekistan and participating leaders.

The spokesperson also mentioned the ongoing visit of President of the Senate of Rwanda, Dr. Kalinda François-Xavier who called on President Dr. Arif Alvi, the prime minister, Senate chairman, the National Assembly speaker and different federal ministers. Coming to the unabated human rights violations in Indian Illegally Occupied Jammu and Kashmir (IIOJK), she highlighted that during October, the occupation forces had killed 17 and injured 10 Kashmiris. In over 200 cordon and search operations and house raids, they destroyed houses and arbitrarily arrested 78 individuals. “These acts reflect a consistent pattern of human rights abuses perpetrated by the occupation forces in IIOJK over the last several decades.

The international community must act to avert such a tragedy in IIOJK and urge India to bring an end to its occupation and implement UNSC Resolutions that recognize the right of self-determination of the people of Kashmir.” Asked to comment on sentencing of eight Indian naval officers to death in a case of espionage by a Qatar’s court, the spokesperson said it testified that India’s network of espionage had gone beyond South Asia and now extends to the Middle East and even further than that.

Mentioning the involvement of Indian intelligence in an extra-judicial and extraterritorial killing of an individual in Canada, she said Pakistan had remained a target of India’s state-sponsored terrorism, subversion and espionage for a long time as in 2016, a high-ranking Indian naval officer was arrested in Pakistan for his involvement in directing, financing and executing terror and sabotage in Pakistan. “For us, it is not a surprise and it is no coincidence that the Indians sentenced in Qatar are also retired naval officers.

These developments clearly show India’s reckless and irresponsible conduct in clear violation of international law and the UN principle of state sovereignty. It also calls into question India’s reliability as a credible partner and its claims for enhanced global responsibilities,” she remarked.