PESHAWAR, Apr 17: A Pakistani woman married to an Afghan citizen filed a petition in the Peshawar High Court on Thursday challenging the deportation of Afghan nationals holding Afghan Citizen Cards.
Pakistan announced in January that all Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders should leave the country by March 31 or face deportation. Authorities launched a drive on April 1 to expel those falling into the category.
The petitioner, Reshma, stated in the plea that she is married to Afghan citizen Tariq Khan and they have four children together.
She requested the court to declare null and void the federal government’s policy about the expulsion of all Afghan nationals, even those possessing valid documents.
The plea stated that the government wanted to deport her husband to Afghanistan. It urged the court to direct the relevant authorities to issue a Pakistan Origin Card (POC) to her husband and prevent his deportation.
The court fixed the next hearing of the writ petition on April 24.
The petitioner’s advocate Ajmal Khan Mohmand termed the evacuation policy for Afghan refugees “illegal and unconstitutional,” arguing that while the policy mandates evacuation, no formal procedure has been outlined for it.
He added that many Afghan refugees own businesses and assets in Pakistan but the current policy lacks any provisions to address these, which will cause them huge losses.
Mohmand said the forced eviction of Afghans is also a violation of human rights. (PTI)
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