Pakistan sets up deportation centers to hold migrants who are in the country illegally

By MUNIR AHMED
Associated Press

ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan is setting up deportation centers to hold migrants who are living in the country illegally, including an estimated 1.7 million Afghans. The government earlier this month announced a crackdown on illegal migration that’s been condemned by the U.N. and Taliban authorities in Afghanistan. Authorities say anyone found staying in the country without authorization from next Wednesday will be arrested and sent to one of centers. Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghans who fled their country during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. The numbers swelled after the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021. Tens of thousands of people protested the crackdown on Thursday in a border town in Pakistan’s southwest.