Pakistan resumes forced expulsions of 1.4 million Afghan refugees despite UN concerns

Authorities in Pakistan have resumed the forced deportations of Afghan refugees after the federal government declined to extend a deadline for their stay, officials said on Monday.

The decision affects approximately 1.4 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, whose legal status expired at the end of June.

Many had hoped for a one-year extension to settle personal affairs, such as selling property or concluding business, before returning to Afghanistan.

In addition to PoR card holders, around 800,000 Afghans hold Afghan Citizen Cards.

Police say they also are living in the country illegally and being detained prior to deportations in the eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province.

Monday's decision drew criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency.

At least 1.2 million Afghan nationals have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, according to a June report published by UNHCR.

Repatriations on such a massive scale have the potential to destabilise the fragile situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government came into power in 2021.

A 31 July government notification confirmed Pakistan’s decision to repatriate all Afghan nationals holding expired PoR cards.

It states Afghans without valid passports and Pakistani visas are in the country illegally and must return to their homeland under local immigration laws.

Police across Pakistan are detaining Afghans to transport them to border crossings, according to two government and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.

They said there are no mass arrests and police were told to go to house-to-house and make random checks to detain foreigners living in the country illegally.

"Yes, the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan illegally are being sent back in a dignified way," said Shakeel Khan, commissioner for Afghan refugees in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

The latest operation is the most significant step yet under orders from federal government in Islamabad, he said.

Afghan national Rehmat Ullah, 35, said his family migrated to Pakistan's north-western Peshawar city decades ago and now is preparing to return home.

"I have five children and my concern is that they will miss their education," he said. "I was born here, my children were born here and now we are going back."

Millions have fled to Pakistan over the past four decades to escape war, political unrest and economic hardship in Afghanistan.

The renewed deportation drive follows a nationwide crackdown launched in 2023 targeting foreigners living illegally in Pakistan.

The Interior Ministry, which oversees the campaign, did not immediately comment.

Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, expressed deep concern over the government's actions.

"Sending people back in this manner is tantamount to refoulement and a breach of a state’s international obligations," Afridi said in a statement, urging Pakistan to adopt a "humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual, and dignified return of Afghans."

"Such massive and hasty return could jeopardise the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while also risking instability not only in Afghanistan but across the region."