A Karachi-based Afghan family reached a holding area in Peshawar before boarding a bus for voluntary repatriation to Afghanistan via the Torkham border crossing, officials said. The family approached the holding centre with a request for their repatriation and were sent home later. In addition, the interior ministry has exempted members of Afghanistan’s Ismaili community awaiting relocation to Western countries from arrest. A total of 123 “illegal” aliens, including men, women, and children, left the holding area for Afghanistan, while 137 undocumented Afghan refugees from various areas in Punjab were also repatriated via Torkham.