{"id":23689,"date":"2025-10-16T15:04:20","date_gmt":"2025-10-16T15:04:20","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=23689"},"modified":"2025-10-16T15:04:20","modified_gmt":"2025-10-16T15:04:20","slug":"punjab-launches-whistleblower-drive-to-trace-illegal-afghan-residents","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/?p=23689","title":{"rendered":"Punjab launches whistleblower drive to trace illegal Afghan residents"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>The Punjab government has announced a whistleblower system to identify and report illegal Afghan residents, part of a renewed push to deport undocumented migrants in the wake of deadly border clashes with Afghanistan.<\/p>\n<p>During a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister of Punjab, it was decided that informants\u2019 identities will remain confidential, while combing operations will target undocumented Afghans and their businesses. Those found without legal status will be deported under the federal government\u2019s repatriation policy.<\/p>\n<p>Read: Explained: Pakistan-Afghanistan border conflict<\/p>\n<p>In what initially appeared to be a clerical error, the provincial government also moved to bring Afghan nationals into the tax net.<\/p>\n<p>However, Punjab Information Minister Azma Zahid Bukhari clarified to The Express Tribune that the policy applies only to those residing in Pakistan legally.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAll Afghans legally residing here and doing business in Pakistan will now be required to pay taxes,\u201d Bukhari said. \u201cNo one with legal permission to stay can evade taxation\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>According to the Home Department, around 65,000 Afghans have already been deported, with operations continuing across the province.<\/p>\n<p>However, the crackdown has also drawn concern from local Pakhtuns, who say they are frequently subjected to identity checks during police raids in their neighborhoods.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIt\u2019s because of them that our areas go through combing operations again and again,\u201d said Gulzeb Khan, a businessman from Lahore Cantonment and member of the Pakhtun Welfare Association.<\/p>\n<p>Read More: FBR suspends Afghan Transit Trade amid border unrest<\/p>\n<p>\u201cEven at checkpoints, we\u2019re asked to prove our identity while others pass freely. My wife lost her NIC, and NADRA is now asking us to prove her nationality before reissuing it\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Afghan residents, meanwhile, say the sweeping drive is punishing those who have lived in Pakistan for generations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMy family has been here for sixty years. I was born in Pakistan,\u201d said Moeen Khan, a labourer at Lahore\u2019s Azam Cloth Market. \u201cRecently, police stopped us at Babu Sabu and demanded Rs500 to let us go. Sometimes it\u2019s Rs200, sometimes Rs500 \u2014 that\u2019s the price of staying safe.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Also Read: Taliban regime gets 48-hour reprieve<\/p>\n<p>He said many Afghans see Pakistan as home and want peace between the two nations.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe love Pakistan. This country gave us shelter and work. Why would we be against it?\u201d he said.<\/p>\n<p>Another Afghan, speaking on condition of anonymity, said resentment runs deep on both sides but urged restraint.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cPakistan helped America bomb Afghanistan, so some ill will is natural,\u201d he said. \u201cBut discrimination helps no one. When Pakistanis face harassment abroad, it\u2019s called a human rights violation \u2014 yet when it happens to Muslims here, it\u2019s called national interest\u201d.<\/p><\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Punjab government has announced a whistleblower system to identify and report illegal Afghan residents, part of a renewed push to deport undocumented migrants in the wake of deadly border clashes with Afghanistan. During a meeting chaired by the Chief Minister of Punjab, it was decided that informants\u2019 identities will remain confidential, while combing operations [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-23689","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23689","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=23689"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23689\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=23689"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=23689"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ipp-news.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=23689"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}