Pakistan to provide transit stay to Afghans, foreigners fleeing Afghanistan
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Pakistan has decided to provide transit stay to thousands of Afghan nationals and foreigners being evacuated from Afghanistan, where twin bombings on Thursday killed more than 70 people including 13 American soldiers, reported 24NewsHD TV channel.
The Pakistani authorities on Friday got vacated hotels and hostels in three different cities. However, the faculty members and students at the country’s three largest universities which were ordered to make room for the short stay of Afghans and foreigners resisted the idea.
Since Kabul fell to the Taliban, a large number of Afghan people wanted to flee from the country through air or land.
Keeping in view the situation in Afghanistan, Pakistani authorities which had earlier stated it has no capacity to accommodate more refugees, now have taken the control of hotels and hostels in three big cities — Lahore, Islamabad-Rawalpindi and Karachi.
The district administration of respective cities took charge of hostels and hotels. In Karachi, 2,000 foreign and Afghan nationals are to be accommodated that are being airlifted by allied forces from Kabul Airport.
It is relevant to note that Pakistan has extended help to facilitate Afghans exit when President Erdogan said Turkey would not act as European Union (EU) warehouse for Afghan refugees and rebuffed Europe’s call to host Afghan refugees.
In Lahore, three universities hostels are being vacated – University of Engineering and Technology (UET), Government College University (GCU) and University of Health Sciences Kala Shah Kaku Campus.
It is learned that students and university employees have refused to vacate the UHS Kala Shah Kaku Campus.
The authorities also got hold of 148 hotels and 19 university hostels in Rawalpindi.
Moreover, Pakistan has tightened the security of the Chaman border after Kabul airport suicide attack by ISIS.
The security has also been beefed up in Karachi and authorities have ordered Karachi Police to collect the data of Chinese and Afghan nationals living in the city. It has been ordered to get data about their residences and office hours.