By Anzal Amin
ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly was informed on Wednesday that at least 1.3 million Afghan refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan so far.
Responding to a question raised by MNA Anjum Aqeel Khan, Parliamentary Secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Malik stated that around 3 million Afghan refugees had been residing in Pakistan. Out of these, 813,000 hold Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), while 1.3 million possess Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.
He further emphasised that under the One Document Regime, Afghan nationals who wish to enter Pakistan for medical treatment, education, or business purposes are welcome, provided they obtain the appropriate visa and carry all valid documents.
Last month, State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said that Pakistan set a June 30 deadline for registered Afghan nationals, including Proof of Registration (PoR) holders, to voluntarily return to Afghanistan.
Speaking to media, he said, “After this, formal deportation procedures will begin. Afghan refugees were and remain our guests. They are being sent back with full dignity and respect.”
The minister added that this is part of Pakistan’s One Document Policy, under which 857,157 undocumented individuals — most of them Afghans — have been repatriated since the policy’s enforcement. Those wishing to return to Pakistan in the future must obtain visas as per international norms.
Meanwhile, UNHCR’s spokesperson Qaisar Khan Afridi stressed — also in conversation with Geo News — that deportation must be voluntary, not forced.
“Among these refugees are former Afghan government officials, civil society activists, musicians, and educated professionals. Forcing them back would mean putting their lives at serious risk,” he said. Afridi also highlighted that the UNHCR received complaints of arrests in parts of Punjab, even involving some documented Afghan refugees.
However, Chaudhry categorically denied such incidents, stating that no such case has been officially reported and that previous allegations turned out to be fake news upon verification.
He clarified that Afghan refugees who fail to leave within the stated deadlines are not immediately deported, but are first notified, and then taken to refugee holding centres where they are provided food, shelter, security, medical aid and travel facilities.
Earlier, When Aminullah and his family finally received their Afghan Citizen Cards in late 2017, they thought their days of evading the police and living in fear of their Pakistani neighbours exposing them as undocumented Afghans had officially come to an end.
They were among almost 90,000 Afghans legally registered in Punjab province between 2017 and 2018. Issued only during that year, the cards didn’t entitle them to services, but they did allow them to legally remain in the country.
On 29 January this year, that suddenly changed as the Pakistani government announced that all ACC holders would face immediate deportation, along with all other unregistered Afghans.
The announcement signalled the start of the second round of Islamabad’s effort to expel “all illegal foreigners” – a drive the government says is to rid the country of criminals and militants, but which rights groups say includes abusive and unlawful deportations.
The first round of deportations began in November 2023 and saw more than 800,000 Afghans return. This new wave, which began in earnest on 10 April, is wider still, marking the first time ACC holders are being deported as part of official Pakistani government policy.
“We had these damn cards for years, and now they’re useless,” Aminullah, 26, told The New Humanitarian. “They just made them invalid in one day.”
Aminullah’s extended family of 51 people – his parents, along with the households of his five brothers and eight cousins – are among the 82,000 Afghans that returned from Pakistan between 1 and 24 April, according to the Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation. Islamabad claims that number is closer to 100,000 people.
Currently, Afghan refugees with what are called Proof of Registration, or PoR, documents from the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) are protected from deportation, but the Pakistani government has indicated it will start expelling them as well in the coming months. Those with visas should remain protected.
