Pakistan has called for expediting the departure of Afghan refugees awaiting special visas to the US and other Western nations.

“Post Taliban takeover in 2021, some western friendly countries requested Pakistan’s support to resettle Afghans who were at risk,” Foreign Office Spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch told Shaukat Piracha on Rubaroo on Friday.

She said that Pakistan has been helping in the resettlement of the Afghan refugees as some of them have been resettled in these Western or third countries.

“But it has been two years now. Now it is important to speed up their repatriation to those countries,” she added.

The repatriation plan for illegal immigrants is not an issue of an international treaty, she said, adding that it is all about the domestic law of Pakistan.

“The Afghan refugees expelled from Pakistan have the right to apply for a Pakistan visa through proper channels,” she added.

Baloch said that the government had apprised the Afghan government regarding its plan to take action against illegal immigrants.

“We also told them that action was not being taken against registered Afghan refugees and living legally in Pakistan,” she added.

Responding to a question regarding the Afghan government’s statement on the security situation in Pakistan, Baloch said that it was in fact the responsibility of Pakistan to ensure peace in the country.

Pakistan expected Afghanistan to ensure its promises of not letting its soil be used against Pakistan, she said. However, she refused to disclose the numbers and identities of the terrorists.

“The issue is that some actors have fled Pakistan and taken refuge in Afghanistan where they are getting trained and carry out attacks in Pakistan. We only have one demand that either take action against them or hand them over to us,” she added.