THE management of western borders has never been the priority of successive governments even after start of Afghan war from the decade of 1980s. The influx and stay in Pakistan of Afghan Refugees was not regulated like the neighbouring country Iran and they were allowed free movement across the country, ignoring the security risks for the country. Now the presence of large number of illegal Afghan nationals poses a big security problem. Militants from Afghanistan easily sneak into Pakistan at unfrequented points, find their handlers from the Afghan nationals and carry out terrorist arracks. While chairing a meeting, Prime Minister Imran Khan directed form creation of special division on border management system under the supervision of an additional Secretary of Ministry of Interior. Currently, 10 different ministries and provincial governments do border management; however, no central department at the federal level existed to look after these issues. There was a dire need for the collection of information and keeping data at one place of all those people who enter Pakistan through land, sea and air.
Border fencing with Afghanistan will no doubt help check the illegal cross border movement. But still chances of entries of foreign nationals cannot be effectively controlled. The border in Baluchistan is not properly manned. Moreover, there are complaints that provincial government authorities always adopt a policy of masterly inactivity for illegal entry of Afghan nationals. There is political dimension of the illegal entry through Afghan border in Baluchistan. A nationalist party assisted the Afghan nationals to obtain CNICs. In the recent PDM meeting in Quetta they vowed to remove border fencing. They have openly expressed their trans-border agenda.
After the APS attack, previous PTI government in Khyber Pukhtunkhwa strongly agitated the issue of data collection of unregistered Afghan Refugees and starting work on a working out a plan for repatriation of Afghan refugees. The Ministry of SAFRON turned a deaf year to it. The judicial commission report on the terrorists attack on civil hospital Quetta emphasied the need for a comprehensive national security policy and refinement of national action plan. Last PML-government was least bothered about it. But the present government is also not different from its predecessor.
