Karachi, Pakistan: Iran hands over 217 Pakistanis to authorities of Pakistan on Saturday.
Iranian security forces and staff of immigration handed Pakistani nationals who have been living in Iran illegally to Levies force on Pak-Iran borders in Taftan area of Chaghi district.
Levies sources said here on Saturday that these Pakistani workers had gone to Iran for their livelihoods who were apprehended from different parts of Iran by Iranian security forces because they were living there without valid traveling documents.
The Levies sources said that these deportees would be handed over to Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) for further interrogation. Majority of people who were living in Iran illegally belongs to KPK province of Pakistan.
“Iran is very strict regarding its immigration laws while Pakistanis from KPK and Baluchistan provinces are habitual to keep staying in Iran without legal documents. Such illegal stays in any country by Pakistanis bring a bad name for country”, said a former Immigration officer who had been working at Taftan border.
Due to constant inflow from Pakistan, Iran has started building a three feet thick and 10 ft high concrete wall that will span the 700 km frontier stretching from Taftan to Mand. The project will include large earth and stone embankments and deep ditches to deter illegal crossings and drug smuggling into Iran.
Iran also blames Pakistan for cross border terrorism as 13 people were killed in Zahedan town bordering Pakistan on February 17, 2007 including nine Iranian Revolutionary Guard officials. Pakistan denied allegations that terrorists entered Iran from Pakistan for this killing event.
