US gearing up to deport THESE Pakistani immigrants

As the Donald Trump administration in the United States (US) gears up to send illegal immigrants packing, the Foreign Office (FO) has vowed to assist any Pakistanis affected by the newly-signed executive order.

Days after assuming office as the 47th US president, Trump, in line with his electioneering rhetoric, has signed a flurry of executive orders related to immigration and deportation. While most of the orders are already being litigated in courts, a significant spike in arrests and deportations has left migrants concerned.

Reacting to the development and possible deportation of Pakistani nationals illegally settled in the US, FO spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan, in his weekly press briefing on Thursday, said that Pakistan and the US remained in touch about illegal immigrants, but the exact number of affected Pakistanis was unknown.

He said the possible deportations were a part of the executive order, adding that the government would offer support to such Pakistanis with the help of the foreign ministry.

To a question about Afghan nationals stuck in Pakistan after the suspension of the US resettlement programme, the FO spokesperson said that almost 80,000 had been taken by various countries but around 40,000 were still present in the country.

Confirming that the FO received Trump's executive order on January 20 regarding the suspension of the US Refugee Admission Programme, Khan expressed hope that the programme would soon be resumed so that the remaining Afghan refugees could be resettled as per commitments by the US government.

The FO spokesperson also said that Pakistan had sufficient evidence of presence of terrorist groups in Afghanistan and that they were using the weapons left behind US forces for terrorist activities on its soil. He also reminded Kabul of its responsibility to act against such groups.

Commenting on the boat capsizing incident in Morocco, Khan said the foreign ministry was coordinating for the repatriation of 22 Pakistani survivors.

Said individuals are being returned to Pakistan in batches after thorough investigation, he said and added that the first batch had already arrived in Islamabad.

Rejecting reports about Pak-China relations turning sour, the spokesperson emphasised that the friendship between the two countries was strong, and reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the One-China policy.

Furthermore, he highlighted India’s human rights violations in occupied Kashmir and accused New Delhi of sponsoring international terrorism. He stressed that Pakistan condemned terrorism in all its forms.