Seven arrested for waving Afghanistan’s flag at Karachi’s Sea View beach

Karachi police detained seven individuals for waving Afghanistan’s flag at Sea View beach during the Eid holidays.

According to police reports, the suspects arrived at the beach in a Vigo vehicle (registration number KX-0919) and were seen holding the Afghan flag.

The arrested individuals have been identified as Saeedullah, Rizwan, Azmat, Izzatullah, Sajjad, Muhammad Waqas, and Shoaib. They were shifted to a police station for further investigation.

Read: Afghanistan bans windows in residential buildings to ensure women's purdah

Police revealed that the suspects had rented the vehicle for Rs22,000 per day. 

It is worth noting that Pakistan’s relations with the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan remain strained amid rising cross-border tensions. Islamabad has accused Kabul of failing to act against militant groups operating from Afghan soil.

The repatriation process for the millions of Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan has begun after the deadline for voluntary return expired on March 31. There are approximately 2.1 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, with more than half of them living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

The Afghan refugees, the Taliban government, and international organizations have urged Pakistan to reconsider its deadline for expelling refugees, emphasising the need for a more gradual and thoughtful process, rather than rushing it.

Check: Pakistanis, Afghans to face US travel ban under Trump’s order

In the previous repatriation process, 878,972 Afghan refugees voluntarily returned to their country. The current escalation in repatriation by the Pakistani government comes after a sudden rise in terrorist attacks by extremist groups operating from Afghanistan.

Read: Pakistanis, Afghans to face US travel ban under Trump’s order

To enhance its security situation and combat the growing terrorism originating from the neighboring country, Pakistani authorities have decided to expedite the resolution of the refugee issue, with many refugees residing in the country without legal documentation.

The federal government has also instructed the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government to update the information on Afghan students in the Foreign National Security Cell's dashboard, which monitors foreign nationals in the country.