Afghan families living in Pakistan for decades now face sudden uprooting as federal authorities restart deportation operations, drawing sharp criticism from humanitarian bodies.
Zig Diaries
Humanitarian Desk
Date: Sunday, 4 August 2025
Time: 16:00 WAT
Location: 📍Peshawar, Pakistan
Pakistan has resumed deportation of Afghan refugees holding
expired documentation, affecting over 1.4 million individuals, as the
government declines to extend legal stay deadlines.
In a
sweeping move that could impact regional stability, Pakistani authorities have
resumed the forced deportation of Afghan refugees holding expired Proof of
Registration (PoR) cards, ending hopes for a legal extension and prompting
fresh warnings from the United Nations.
According to
a July 31 government notification seen by The Associated Press, more
than 1.4 million Afghans with expired PoR documentation are now subject
to removal. Another 800,000 Afghans with Afghan Citizen Cards are also
under scrutiny for lacking valid residency and are reportedly being detained in
provinces including Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan.
Commissioner
for Afghan Refugees in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Shakeel Khan said, “Yes, the
Afghan refugees living in Pakistan illegally are being sent back in a dignified
way.” He added that the latest phase is the most significant deportation effort
to date under Islamabad's directives.
While
officials deny mass arrests, two government sources confirmed that police have
been ordered to conduct random house-to-house checks to apprehend
undocumented migrants.
The decision
comes despite widespread appeals for a grace period. Many Afghans had hoped for
a one-year extension to settle affairs such as property sales or
education logistics before returning to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Rehmat
Ullah, a 35-year-old Afghan born in Pakistan, lamented the loss: “I have five
children and my concern is that they will miss their education. I was born
here, my children were born here, and now we are going back.”
The UN High
Commissioner for Refugees expressed deep alarm. Spokesperson Qaiser Khan
Afridi warned, “Sending people back in this manner is tantamount to
refoulement and a breach of a state’s international obligations.” He urged the
Pakistani government to halt the campaign, calling for a “voluntary,
gradual and dignified” repatriation instead.
UNHCR data
shows over 1.2 million Afghans have already returned from Iran and
Pakistan this year — a pace aid agencies say risks destabilizing Afghanistan,
where humanitarian conditions remain dire under the Taliban administration.
Pakistan has
hosted Afghan refugees for over four decades, but in 2023 began a nationwide
crackdown on undocumented migrants — a move human rights observers fear is
escalating in scope and scale.
#Afghanistan #Refugees #HumanRights #UNHCR #Pakistan #MigrantCrisis
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