Pakistani Police Arrest 45 Afghans in Peshawar: Reports

The police raids follow an attack on a school in Peshawar earlier in December that was carried out by Taliban gunmen.

MOSCOW, December 30 (Sputnik) — Pakistani police have arrested 45 Afghan citizens during a raid in the city of Peshawar, Afghanistan's news outlet Khaama Press reported Tuesday.

The police raids follow an attack on a school in Peshawar earlier in December which was conducted by gunmen from the Afghanistan-based Taliban movement.

Most of the arrested Afghans do not have Refugee Cards or any other travel documents. All of the arrested are to be deported from Pakistan within a month. However, the UN Refugee Agency has asked Pakistani authorities not to deport those who are registered in Pakistan until the end of 2015, according to Khaama Press.

The Afghanistan authorities said they are aware of the arrests and were maintaining contact with the government of the neighboring country, Khaama Press reported.

During the December school assault in Peshawar more than 140 people were killed, most of them children. The Taliban claimed that the attack was a response for military operations the Pakistani army had conducted against Taliban gunmen. The Pakistani government lifted the moratorium on the death penalty as a result of the school attack.