Eviction of illegal immigrants compliant with int’l norms: Pakistan

By Riyaz ul Khaliq

ISTANBUL (AA) – Pakistan on Monday reiterated its commitment to removing "illegal" immigrants as a deadline approaches, emphasizing that its actions align with international norms.

The decision to repatriate "illegal foreigners," said the nation’s Foreign Ministry, "is in exercise of Pakistan’s sovereign domestic laws, and compliant with applicable international norms and principles".

The statement comes in response to the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), which expressed concern over the eviction of over one million foreigners from Pakistan.

The repatriation plan, Islamabad clarified, "applies to all illegal foreigners residing in Pakistan, irrespective of their nationality and country of origin."

The country has set Nov. 1 as the deadline for illegal residents to depart.

Expressing "extreme alarm" over the move, the OHCHR had said last Friday urged Pakistan to suspend forcible returns of Afghan nationals "before it is too late to avoid a human rights catastrophe."