Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi on Tuesday directed NADRA to fully assist law enforcement agencies in the deportation of illegal foreigners, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported.
While chairing a meeting at NADRA headquarters in Islamabad, Naqvi said immediate identification of those who illegally obtained Pakistani citizenship must be ensured, and such individuals should be removed from the national database.
He noted that NADRA’s services had significantly improved over the past two years and instructed NADRA to introduce more modern services for public convenience. The minister said NADRA’s state-of-the-art offices should be built on their own land instead of rented buildings.
It was also said that NADRA had taken several measures to improve service delivery and that millions of identity cards of deceased people had been cancelled.
A 30-day period had been set to resolve ID card-related issues. With the PTA’s cooperation, mobile SIMs issued in deceased persons’ names were being blocked.
Pakistan has maintained its repatriation policy since November 2023 as part of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan. Authorities have since repatriated approximately 1.3 million Afghans under the ongoing deportation drive.
Pakistani authorities have also begun deporting Afghan prisoners through the Torkham border, with the first batch of detainees handed over to Afghan forces as part of a phased repatriation process under government policy.
According to immigration officials, 40 Afghan prisoners were deported and transferred to Afghan authorities at the Torkham border.
Officials said that the repatriation was being carried out in phases in line with government policy. In the first phase, Afghan prisoners were being deported, while in the second phase, Afghan nationals residing illegally in the country would be repatriated.
The deportation process had remained suspended since February 26 due to tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Similarly, bilateral trade between the two countries has been suspended since October 12, 2025, amid ongoing strain in relations.