Passengers walk after their arrival at the Jinnah International Airport in Karachi on January 31, 2020 — AFP
Foreign Office Confirms Arrival of 8 Pakistanis Deported by US
By Mariana Baabar
As Pakistani illegal immigrants are being sent home by several world capitals, the Foreign Office confirmed on Friday eight Pakistani nationals, who were staying illegally in the US, have returned on Thursday.
Speaking at the weekly media briefing, the spokesperson, Shafqat Ali Khan said the Interior Ministry and the FIA could give the identities of those deported. He added that at this point, Islamabad and Washington are in discussion with each other.
“About the broader policy, any Pakistani who is staying illegally abroad, we try to facilitate their return, but there are certain procedures in place. If a person is found to be staying illegally, first we confirm his/her nationality. Once the nationality is confirmed, we accept back our national”, he added.
Regarding illegal Pakistani immigrants returning from Europe, the spokesperson explained that there is a EURA readmission agreement signed between the government of Pakistan and the European Union.
“If any Pakistani national is found to be staying illegally in any of these countries, there is a procedure involved for deportation. Only after that process those individuals are deported back to Pakistan. There is nothing out of the ordinary. If any country’s citizen is found staying in another country illegally, of course that is against the law, and that his country takes its citizens back. In case of European Union, it’s a very structured arrangement,” he said.
Responding to questions about the present state of relations between Islamabad and Washington, the spokesperson emphasised that Pakistan’s relations with the US are an important priority of its foreign policy based on the foundational element of interstate relations of non-interference in internal affairs of each other.
“Our relations with the United States are an important priority of our foreign policy. We intend to pursue our engagement with the new US administration and interactions between the two countries continue. These relations are very strong, dense, and multi-dimensional,” he pointed out.
Commenting on the broader direction of Pak-US relations, he said that these are decades-old relations and are robust and strong.
“Our desire is to continue with this important relationship. The two sides are already engaged through diplomatic channels. Pakistan remains committed to carrying this relationship forward,” he added.
When asked about US lawmakers who have written a letter to US Secretary of State Marco Rubio to put pressure on Pakistan to fully restore democracy and release Imran Khan, the spokesperson responded, “About the full restoration of democracy, Pakistan is a democracy. About three members of the Congress writing to Mr Rubio, what I can say as that one of the foundational elements of interstate relations is non-interference in internal affairs of each other,” he said.
Pakistan has welcomed the continuation of the F-16 oversight program, which is a regular feature of Pakistan-US defence collaboration under the “end user agreement”.
When asked to comment on President Donald Trump’s remarks that he would not have let go of the control of Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan if he were in place of Joe Biden, the spokesperson said, “What happens between Afghanistan and the US is a matter between two sovereign countries. The kind of relations or interaction they want to pursue is up to them. On the question of the weapons left behind, we have been raising our concerns about the fact that these sophisticated weapons are finding their way into the hands of terrorists who are carrying out terrorist activities in Pakistan. We have impressed upon this issue before the international community and the Afghan authorities.” The News
