Islamabad : Authorities in Pakistan have resumed the forced deportation of Afghan refugees after the federal government refused to extend their stay in the country, officials said on Monday.
This decision affects about 1.4 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, whose legal status expired at the end of June.
Many of them had hoped for a one-year extension to resolve personal issues, such as selling property or winding up businesses, before returning to Afghanistan.
In addition to PoR card holders, about 800.000 other Afghans possess Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC).
Police say they too are living illegally in the country and are being arrested ahead of deportation in the provinces of eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh.
Monday’s decision prompted criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR.
According to a UNHCR report from June, at least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year.
Deportations on such a large scale could escalate the already fragile situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government took power in 2021.
A Pakistani government announcement dated July 31, seen by the Associated Press, confirms Pakistan’s decision to repatriate all Afghan nationals with expired PoR cards.
The announcement said that Afghans without valid passports and Pakistani visas are staying in the country illegally and should be returned to their homeland under Pakistan’s immigration laws.
Police across Pakistan are stopping Afghans to transport them to border crossings, according to two government and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity.
They said no mass arrests are being made, but police have been ordered to go door-to-door and conduct random checks to stop foreigners residing illegally.
“Yes, Afghan refugees who are living illegally in Pakistan are being returned with dignity,” said Shakeel Khan, commissioner for Afghan refugees in the northwestern province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
He said that this is the biggest measure so far being implemented by order of the federal government in Islamabad.
Millions of Afghans have fled to Pakistan over the past four decades to escape war, political unrest and economic hardship.
The new deportation campaign follows a wide-ranging operation launched in 2023 against foreigners living illegally in Pakistan.
Qaiser Khan Afridi, spokesman for the UN refugee agency, expressed deep concern about the recent actions of the Pakistani government.
“Sending people in this way constitutes forced repatriation and is a violation of a state’s international obligations,” Afridi said in a statement, calling on Pakistan to follow a “humane approach to ensure the voluntary, gradual and dignified return” of Afghans, and praising the country for hosting millions of Afghan refugees for more than 40 years. /DW
