Islamabad and adjoining districts ban utilities, employment and rented houses for illegal aliens

The federal capital and its four adjoining districts, Rawalpindi, Attock, Murree and Haripur, have enforced a sweeping ban on providing electricity and all other basic utilities to foreigners residing illegally, including Afghan nationals.

Authorities have further barred them from obtaining employment or renting houses and shops. In addition, the process of blocking their mobile SIM cards has already begun. 

The move follows a door-to-door survey that covers more than 25,000 households, conducted by district administration and police officers. 

A high-level meeting of a special task force, held on Wednesday at the headquarters of Capital Development Authority (CDA) and chaired by CDA Chairman and Chief Commissioner Muhammad Ali Randhawa, reviewed progress to date and mapped out next steps. 

Participants at the meeting included the police officers, civil administration of all five districts, and representatives from Ministry of Interior, National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) and other relevant departments. 

Officials informed the Chief Commissioner that deportation of illegal foreign residents is underway, with many returning voluntarily, and legal action has begun against landlords who rented property to undocumented individuals. 

In a directive emerging from the meeting, authorities were instructed to block all movement of illegal foreign nationals from the five-district area. No accommodation or employment should be offered to undocumented persons, and data from all districts is to be consolidated into the central records of the Interior Ministry. 

Meanwhile, the PTA informed the task force that the process of blocking SIM cards belonging to undocumented individuals is already in progress. Survey teams are accelerating door-to-door registration of all residents in Islamabad, including identity cards and household data, as part of the enforcement drive.