LANDIKOTAL
Authorities carried crackdown against illegal Afghans in Landikotal Bazaar and arrested 12 Afghan nationals, sources said on Friday.
Officials said they have arrested a number of stayers including those who were running shops in Landikotal bazaar. They said four of the detained individuals were released after verification of their pending court cases, while the remaining eight were deported to Afghanistan through the Torkham border.
The arrest operations were launched on the directives of provincial and federal government amid heightened tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, particularly over border management, undocumented migration and security concerns.
In recent months, Pakistan has stepped up actions against illegal businesses and undocumented foreign nationals as part of a broader policy aimed at regulating cross-border movement and ensuring law and order in sensitive border districts.
Officials said such crackdown would be continued in line with government directives to enforce immigration laws and maintain security in the region.
Meanwhile, shopkeepers and other business owners in Landikotal said that it was a hard decision for them to wrap up their decads old businesses within few days. They said that all shopkeepers had to collect outstanding payments from their customers and sell the remaining food items and other goods available in their shops which was not possible to close it in one or two days.
Officials concern were contacted in this regard but they could not share the actual numbers of arrested persons and deported in the past two days.
