Peshawar, Pakistan (AP) – Authority Pakistan Resuming forced expulsion of Afghan refugees after the federal government refused to extend the key deadline For the stay, authorities said Monday.
The decision will affect around 1.4 million Afghans who hold proof of their registration cards. The legal status expired at the end of June. Many wanted a year extension to resolve personal issues, such as property sales and business deadlines, before returning to Afghanistan.
In addition to POR card holders, around 800,000 Afghans carry Afghan citizen cards. Police say they live in the country illegally and are being detained prior to deportation in eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh.
Monday’s decision attracted criticism from the United Nations Refugee Agency, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees.
at least 1.2 million Afghans According to a June UNHCR report, they were forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year. Such a massive repatriation could destabilize the vulnerable situation in Afghanistan. The Taliban The government came to power in 2021.
The Associated Press’ government notification of July 31 confirms Pakistan’s decision to repatriate all Afghan nationals holding expired POR cards to their home countries. It states that Afghans are illegally in the country without a valid passport and a Pakistani visa and must return to their homeland under Pakistani immigration law.
Police across Pakistan are detaining Afghans to transport them to the border crossing, according to two governments and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not allowed to speak publicly.
They were not made on a major arrest, police were told to go from home to home and to do random checks to detain foreigners who illegally live in the country.
“Yes, Afghan refugees living illegally in Pakistan are being sent back in a dignified way,” said Sheikh Khan, an Afghan refugee commissioner in northwestern Khyber Paktunka province in Afghanistan.
The latest business is the most important step under the orders from the federal government in Islamabad, he said.
Rehamato Ula, 35, of Afghanistan, said his family moved to Peshawar city in northwestern Pakistan several decades ago and is now preparing to return home.
“I have five children, and my concern is that they miss their education,” he said. “I was born here, my children were born here, and now we are back,” he said.
Millions have fled to Pakistan over the past 40 years, sparing war, political instability and economic hardships. Updated deportation drive continues nationwide The crackdown was launched in 2023 Targeting foreigners who live illegally in Pakistan.
The Home Office, which oversees the campaign, did not immediately comment.
Kaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesman for the UN Refugee Agency, expressed deep concern over the government’s recent actions.
“Sending people back this way is equivalent to a violation of the refumement and the state’s international obligations,” Afridi said in a statement, urging Pakistan to adopt “a humanitarian approach to ensuring the voluntary, progressive and dignified return of Afghans,” praised hosting millions of Afghan employers over more than 40 years.
“We are asking the government to stop forced repatriation and ensure a progressive, voluntary and dignified repatriation process,” Afridi said. “This massive and hasty return could put the lives and freedoms of Afghan refugees at risk, not just in Afghanistan but throughout the region.”
