Jalil Abbas Jilani, the foreign minister of the interim government of Pakistan, defended his country’s decision to deport all illegal immigrants, including 1.73 million Afghans, from the country.
Jilani said that no other country allows illegal immigrants to enter its territory and this decision is in accordance with international practices.
According to a new decision of the interim government of Pakistan, Afghans without legal residence documents in Pakistan have been ordered to leave this country by the end of this month, otherwise, they will be forcibly returned to Afghanistan.
The decision has increased the tension between the Taliban in Afghanistan and Islamabad. The spokesman of the Taliban called the deportation of Afghan immigrants "unacceptable”, and the Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the group called it the beginning of a conflict with the Taliban.
However, on the sidelines of a meeting in Tibet, Jilani said, "No country allows illegal people to live in their country, whether it's Europe, Asian or our neighbours."
Pakistan has hosted Afghan immigrants since the 1970s.
Earlier, the Minister of Interior of Pakistan said that about 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan are without legal documents and the total number of Afghan immigrants in this country reaches 4.4 million people.
Defending the decision to deport Afghan migrants, Pakistani officials said that 14 of the 24 suicide attacks in Pakistan this year were carried out by Afghan citizens.
Referring to the new situation in Afghanistan, Pakistan's foreign minister said that after 40 years of hosting, the country's government has now decided that Afghans should return to their homes.
