The security agencies have identified benami properties owned by illegal immigrants in Pakistan.
Benami properties are properties that are owned by one person but are held in the name of another person. This is often done to avoid paying taxes or to hide the ownership of illegal assets.
The government has decided to take action against illegal immigrants across the country starting from November 1.
According to sources, the security agencies are currently in the process of identifying benami properties owned by foreigners.
After October 31, these properties will be confiscated and auctioned. Additionally, all illegal immigrants will be kept in detention centres.
The Foreign Act of Pakistan, Section 3, gives the government the power to expel any foreigner from the country if it is in the public interest.
This section can be used against illegal immigrants who are found to be involved in criminal activities or who are posing a threat to national security.
Pakistan has set a November 1 deadline for all illegal immigrants including hundreds of thousands of Afghans to leave the country or face forcible expulsion.
Some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan have no legal documents.
Islamabad alleges that Afghan nationals carried out over a dozen suicide bombings this year.
Pakistan has hosted the largest number of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of Kabul in 1979. Islamabad says the number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan totalled 4.4 million.
Some 20,000 or more Afghans who fled the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan are in Pakistan awaiting the processing of their applications for US Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) or resettlement in the United States as refugees.
Sources said that Afghans who are under trial or have been convicted of serious crimes won't be sent back.
Meanwhile, district administration, police, prosecution, and jail administration will be given special authority. From November 1, they can arrest and deport illegal Afghan citizens.
Afghans who are detained in any of the four provinces will be kept in special centres during this process.
Recently, United States (US) also urged Pakistan to allow Afghans seeking protection to enter the country.
The US State Department said last Thursday that it strongly encourages Afghanistan's neighbours, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations to provide humanitarian assistance.
"We strongly encourage Afghanistan's neighbours, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations ... to provide humanitarian assistance," a US State Department spokesperson told reporters as reported by Reuters.
Afghanistan's Taliban rulers have said Pakistan's move to evict illegal Afghan migrants was "unacceptable".
Relations have deteriorated between Pakistan and Afghanistan over the past couple of years, largely over accusations that militants fighting the Pakistani state operate from Afghan territory. The Taliban deny this claim.
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