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KABUL – In response to a significant increase in suicide bombings within its borders, Pakistan has taken a bold step, calling for the departure of approximately 1.73 million illegal Afghan migrants currently residing in the country. Pakistani government has been alleging that a majority of the suicide bombings in Pakistan this year have been carried out by Afghan nationals.
The Pakistani government has issued a clear directive, requiring these estimated 1.73 million Afghan nationals to leave the country by the end of this month. Failure to comply will result in tracking, detention, and potential forcible removal.
Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti, during a Tuesday press briefing, emphasized, “We have set a deadline for them, which is November 1st. There is unanimous consensus that we are facing threats from individuals within Afghanistan, with Afghan nationals involved in attacks against us. We have concrete evidence to support this assertion.”
According to reports from Islamabad, out of the 24 recorded suicide bombings in Pakistan in 2023, 14 were executed by Afghan terrorists. It has also been disclosed that more than a third of the 4.4 million Afghan nationals currently residing in Pakistan are doing so without proper authorization.
Minister Bugti addressed the media following a meeting with caretaker Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar and top military officials to discuss the alarming surge in attacks on Pakistani soil.
Just last week, two suicide bombings at separate mosques in Pakistan resulted in a tragic loss of life, with at least 57 people killed, including seven children. Investigations have revealed that at least one of the attackers was an Afghan national. Numerous others sustained injuries in these devastating incidents.
The return of the Taliban to power in Kabul has created political instability and escalating tensions in the region, prompting Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, a militant Taliban faction based in Pakistan, to revoke its ceasefire with the government last year.
The Afghan Taliban has refuted Islamabad’s allegations that Afghan territory, particularly the mountainous border region shared between the two nations, serves as a training ground for militants. They assert that Pakistan’s security concerns should be addressed as a domestic issue.
