KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – The Pakistani government has launched a new phase of Afghan refugee deportation, targeting those without legal documents and holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), after the March 31 deadline for voluntary departure expired.
Geo News, citing official sources in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, reported that the deportation process began on Tuesday, April 1, after the federal government decided not to extend the deadline.
Reports from major cities, including Islamabad, Karachi, Peshawar, and Lahore, also indicate that security forces have started operations to identify and detain Afghan refugees.
Earlier, The Associated Press, citing official documents, had reported that the Pakistani government had extended the deadline until April 10 due to the Eid al-Fitr holidays. However, according to the Pakistani media, the March 31 cutoff remains in place for undocumented Afghan refugees and the over 800,000 holders of ACC cards, who were instructed to leave the country by that date or face forced removal.
Another deadline, June 30, looms for those holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, issued jointly by the Pakistani government and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) to an estimated 1.3 million Afghans in the country.
Since the launch of Pakistan’s “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan” in November 2023, around 845,000 Afghans have either been deported or voluntarily returned, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Pakistan’s mass deportation campaign has sparked criticism from the UN, human rights organizations, and refugee advocacy groups, as well as from the Taliban.
Rights groups argue that the deportation campaign violates international law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits the return of individuals to places where they may face harm. They have repeatedly called on the Pakistani government to halt the ill-treatment and forced deportation of Afghans, citing concerns over Taliban retaliation and the ongoing humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan.
