11 Afghans arrested in Nepal for illegal entry

The Nepal Police have arrested 11 Afghan nationals suspected of entering the illegally entering the Himalayan nation via India.

Officers from the Central Investigation Bureau of Nepal Police raided a house in Sinamangal, Kathmandu, on Monday and the arrested the 11 Afghan nationals comprising seven men and four women.

"Five of them entered Nepal on Thursday (October 21) while the others came some six weeks ago," Deputy Inspector General of Nepal Police Dhiraj Pratap Singh, who also heads the Central Investigation Bureau, told Xinhua news agency.

All the Afghan nationals have been transferred to the Department of Immigration for further action, he said, noting that Indian ration cards, which are used as a proof of identity, were found with six of the arrested persons.

Police suspected the Afghans prepared the ration cards to show they are Indian nationals as Nepalis and Indians do not need passports for cross-border travel.

The police are probing the authenticity of the cards, added Singh.

Meanwhile, some Afghans in Nepal have approached the UN Refugee Agency office in Kathmandu for protection.

"Five Afghans have approached us for protection. We are studying as to what sorts of support we can provide," Dipesh Das Shrestha from the office told Xinhua.

He noted that the Agency is checking whether the Afghans arrested by the police are among those who had sought its support.