Saudi Arabia says 12,000 Afghans in their country have Pakistani passports

Authorities in Saudi Arabia have recovered Pakistani passports from 12,000 Afghan nationals living in the kingdom, reported 24NewsHD TV channel on Friday.

Sources told 24News TV channel that after it came to the notice of Saudi officials they contacted Pakistan’s embassy in Riyadh and informed it of the development.

The embassy later informed the Foreign Ministry officials in Islamabad.

On the other hand, police in Lahore have arrested one of the members of the gang which would arrange fake passports for Afghans. 

DG Passports Directorate and the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) have started the investigation.

Sources further said that the passports were issued to Afghans on their fake national identity cards (NICs).

They informed that the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) record was also being counterchecked.

Around 10 days ago, the government of Pakistan had asked all undocumented foreign nationals, mainly nearly 1.73 million Afghan nationals, to leave the country by October 31 or else the law would take its own course.

Citing reasons for the government’s decision, Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti said that 14 of 24 suicide bombings in the country this year were carried out by Afghan nationals.

Bugti went on to say that an estimated 1.73 million Afghans living in Pakistan had no legal documents to stay.

“There are no two opinions that we are attacked from within Afghanistan and Afghan nationals are involved in attacks on us,” he said. “We have evidence.”

 “If they do not go, then all the law-enforcement agencies in the provinces or federal government will be utilized to deport them,” the minister said.

 

Reporter: Farzana Siddique