LANDI KOTAL - The Afghanistan Ambassador in Pakistan Sardar Ahmad Khan Shukaib has expressed his satisfaction over the facilities being provided to repatriating Afghan families at Holding Center Landi Kotal and requested the Pakistani government to brief the verification and data collection process as it multiplies the miseries of the returning Afghanis. He expressed the views while talking to the local media persons during his visit to Torkham Border on Friday evening.
The Ambassador said that the Pak government took the decision of sending back illegal Afghan families in hurry and without consultation with the Afghan government, which was a violation of international law.
“Returning of such a large number of immigrants to Afghanistan is a human crisis but the Afghan government is competent enough to deal satisfactorily with it, in spite of limited sources”, he opined. He went on that the repatriation of Afghans complaints of certain troubles while verifying them in Holding Center, scanning their households, loaded in vehicles beside slow pace of clearing process at the Pak-Afghan crossing, Torkham that was injustice and would be taken up with the authorities.
He urged the government to revise its policy for repatriating Afghan citizens pertaining to the restriction of carrying cash money until fifty thousand. The Afghani diplomat maintained that as the returning Afghanis had sold their movable and immovable properties in Pakistan and without a banking channel (ban from international community) how would they transfer their capital to Afghanistan. Earlier, flanked by District Police Officer (DPO) Khyber Saleen Abbas Kulachvi, Additional Deputy Commissioner (Relief) Numan Ali Shah and other officials, the Afghan Envoy visited Holding Center, Landi Kotal and met with repatriation of Afghan nationals who appraised him of their hardships. He also went to Torkham, observed the scanning process where he was briefed by the concerned official pertaining clearance system. He requested the authorities concerned to facilitate the repatriated Afghan families as much as possible. Meanwhile, according to official information 1089 illegal Afghan families returned back to Afghanistan last night. Approximately 587 families from different parts of the country, arrived at the Holding Center, Landi Kotal from where they were transported to Torkham while 502 Afghan families directly reached Torkham and after necessary process they were let to move across the border.
