Over 100,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the last three weeks, Pakistan’s interior ministry confirmed on Tuesday. This follows the cancellation of residence permits as part of a broader campaign to remove illegal foreigners. The drive began in 2023, targetting undocumented Afghans without identity papers.
Analysts believe the deportations are politically motivated to pressure Afghanistan’s Taliban leadership, which Pakistan accuses of sheltering terrorists responsible for cross-border attacks. The ministry told AFP that 100,529 Afghans left Pakistan in April alone.
Thousands of Afghan families have crossed into Afghanistan since the April deadline for voluntary exit expired. The situation has created a sense of panic among long-term Afghan residents in Pakistan. “I was born in Pakistan and have never seen Afghanistan,” said 27-year-old Allah Rahman at the Torkham border. “I left only out of fear and helplessness.”
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Afghanistan’s Prime Minister Hasan Akhund condemned Pakistan’s actions, calling them “unilateral measures” and appealed for the dignified return of refugees during a meeting with Pakistani Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar in Kabul.
Although many Afghans are leaving voluntarily, fearing arrest, the UNHCR said April saw more detentions in Pakistan—12,948—than the entire previous year.
Pakistan continues to face security challenges along its border, especially in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where terrorism is on the rise. Officials allege Afghan nationals are involved in several attacks and accuse Kabul of giving terrorists safe haven, which the Taliban denies.
Millions of Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan over decades of conflict. However, public sentiment is shifting. “They took our jobs and opened businesses,” said a local barber, Tanveer Ahmad, expressing support for the deportation drive.
UNHCR also raised concern that more than half of those deported are children. Women and girls returning to Taliban-ruled Afghanistan face restrictions on education and employment.
In the first phase in 2023, hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans were deported over a few weeks.
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