Authorities in the northern province carried out housing demolitions, roadside identity checks and told Afghans to leave as part of a broader government pushback, community members and officials said. Residents of Mattani, a short drive from the provincial capital Peshawar, told AFP that authorities had demolished many of the Afghan settlement's 200 houses in July.Najeeb Rehman, 50, said he first tried to retrieve his father's medication and children's school certificates from his home."But the officers didn't listen to us and just said to demolish the house," he said, in the remains of the settlement where the walls of many homes were now in rubble. Young men nearby loaded household belongings including beds and solar panels into trucks to cross the border. In June, Pakistan's interior ministry ordered law enforcement nationwide to arrest Afghan citizens without visas from July 10.The ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the demolitions. "A large-scale crackdown against undocumented Afghan nationals began on July 10 and is still ongoing," a senior police officer in Peshawar told AFP on condition of anonymity.
Residents of Mattani near the provincial capital Peshawar said authorities had demolished many of the Afghan settlement's 200 houses in July © Abdul MAJEED / AFP
