Rights groups have criticised the repatriation drive, warning that mass expulsions risk endangering vulnerable people.Pakistan has confirmed to have repatriated more than 80,000 Afghan nationals since April 1, before an extended April 30 deadline for the country’s largest migrant group in an initiative labelled as “forced deportation” by Afghanistan.
Talal Chaudhry, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry adviser, told reporters in Islamabad on Friday that there would be no more extensions to the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023 for more than three million Afghans.
“We have communicated clear instructions to all provinces, if anyone gives a shop, house, or any kind of space to an illegal foreigner, they will be held accountable under the law,” he said.
Those lacking valid documents or holding Afghan Citizen Cards had initially been ordered to leave by March 31. That deadline was later extended by a month.
On Tuesday, the International Organization for Migration, a UN entity, said Pakistan has expelled nearly 60,000 Afghans since the start of April.
“With a new wave of large-scale returns now under way from Pakistan, needs on the ground are rising rapidly – both at the border and in areas of return that are struggling to absorb large numbers of returnees,” Mihyung Park, head of the IOM’s Afghanistan mission, said at the time. Advertisement
More than 1.3 million Afghans who hold Proof of Registration cards from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, have also been t …
