KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistan has announced it will no longer extend Proof of Registration (PoR) cards held by over 1.3 million Afghan refugees and plans to arrest and deport those holding the cards, local media reported.
According to Dawn News, Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior issued a special order on Thursday declaring that PoR cards expired on June 30 will not be renewed, and their holders are now considered to be residing in the country illegally.
The order allows police, local authorities, prosecutors and prison officials to arrest, detain, and deport those holding the cards.
PoR cards were first introduced in 2006 with support from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), granting temporary legal status to Afghan refugees. The cards had been extended annually until this year.
Most PoR cardholders live in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province (over 717,000), followed by Balochistan (over 326,500), Punjab (75,510), and Sindh (43,154), according to the report.
The Interior Ministry reiterated that all Afghan nationals without valid Pakistani visas are considered illegal and must return to Afghanistan.
The decision comes as part of Pakistan’s broader campaign to remove Afghan refugees. Since October 2023, authorities have deported more than 1.3 million Afghans in two phases, targeting those without documents and holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC).
Rights groups, including Amnesty International, have urged Pakistan to stop the deportations. They warn that Afghanistan remains unsafe under Taliban rule, particularly for women, children, former government workers, journalists and activists.
Similar deportation efforts are also underway in Iran. Taliban officials say around 1.8 million Afghans have been expelled from Iran over the past three months.
