Afghan Repatriation
In October 2023, the Pakistani government announced that it would arrest and deport hundreds of
thousands of unregistered foreign nationals and migrants lacking proper documentation.
The expulsions came months after terrorist attacks in Balochistan’s Sui and on a military installation in
Zhob claimed the lives of a dozen soldiers.
As of October 2023, the United Nations estimates that nearly 3.7 million Afghans reside in Pakistan
While Pakistani authorities believe the number to be as high as 4.4 million.
Of these, 1.3 million are registered as legal refugees, holding Proof of Registration cards, while an
additional 850,000 have received Afghan Citizen Cards from the Pakistani authorities
Some 1.7 million more Afghans are believed to be residing in the country without any documentation at
all.
Between 600,000 and 800,000 Afghans are believed to have arrived in Pakistan after the Taliban took
over power in 2021.
Humanitarian organisations, foreign governments, and rights groups urged the government to reconsider
its approach, highlighting the policy’s potential to violate international law and principles, particularly the
principle of non-refoulement.
Amnesty International indicated the deportation of Afghans to Pakistan “would particularly put women
and girls in grave danger as they would be exposed to persecution and other serious human rights
violations simply because of their sex and their gender.
The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) expressed concern about
the situation of religious minorities, including Christians, Shia Muslims, Ahmadiyya Muslims, and Sikhs,
who may be forced back to Afghanistan where they would face a serious threat.
In Phase 1 of the plan, which took effect on 1 November, the state is targeting "illegal" Afghans
In Phase 2 it could go after Afghan Citizen Card holders
In Phase 3, it may send back even those holding Proof of Registration cards.
Why is Pakistan taking this step?
evolving perceptions of the terrorist threat facing Pakistan
Claims that Afghan nationals had been involved in several suicide attacks on security forces along the
frontier.
The latest escalation of Pakistan's worsening dispute with Afghanistan over the Tehreek-e Taliban
Pakistan (TTP), a militant group also known as the Pakistani Taliban, which swears allegiance to the
Taliban in Kabul.
Islamabad invokes the 2020 Doha peace deal the U.S. reached with the Taliban, under which the latter
vowed to prevent militants inside Afghanistan from attacking other countries.
To prevent infiltration, Pakistan resumed work on border fencing, attempting to complete the barrier, but
construction met with stiff resistance from the Taliban -- who, like earlier Afghan authorities, do not
recognize the border, calling it a confection of British colonial rule.
