LAHORE: The Punjab government has stepped up its campaign against illegal Afghan nationals, directing district administrations and police authorities across the province to intensify intelligence gathering, search operations and profiling of undocumented foreigners as part of an expanded repatriation drive.
The fresh instructions were issued by Punjab Home Secretary Dr Ahmed Javed Qazi in an important communication circulated to all commissioners and regional police officers following a high-level meeting with the federal government held on May 25 to review progress on the repatriation of illegal Afghan nationals and enforcement measures in the provinces.
According to the latest communication, authorities are currently tracing and detaining between 15 and 30 illegal Afghan nationals daily in various districts of Punjab, particularly in north Punjab, prompting the provincial government to further tighten monitoring and operational coordination at the district level. The Home Department directed all deputy commissioners to submit a detailed brief regarding every illegal Afghan national lodged in holding centres, including complete details of how the individual managed to remain concealed from law enforcement agencies and evade earlier arrest despite the ongoing crackdown.
District administrations have also been asked to document the circumstances leading to each arrest, including information about previous hideouts, routes of movement and the individuals or networks allegedly providing shelter, logistical support or protection.
The communication emphasised that illegal foreign nationals detained at holding centres could provide “invaluable information” for law enforcement agencies and instructed both deputy commissioners and district police officers to utilise such intelligence for “meaningful intelligence-based operations and search operations” in their respective districts.
Under the revised reporting mechanism, districts will now be required not only to share the number of newly detained illegal Afghan nationals with the Home Department but also provide a comprehensive narration explaining how they were identified, where they had remained hidden and the manner in which they managed to avoid detection during previous operations.
Officials were told that the entire process would be monitored “minutely” by the Home Department and that deputy commissioners and district police officers must take “personal ownership” of the exercise.
