Pakistan begins forced deportation of Afghan migrants after March 31 deadline ends
Pakistan has started deporting Afghan migrants after the March 31 deadline, with no extension granted for voluntary departure.
The Pakistani government has begun deporting Afghans living in the country without legal documents, starting today, Tuesday, April 1st, after the deadline for voluntary departure expired.
Pakistani media reports that after the expiration of this deadline, the process of deporting Afghan migrants has formally begun. Despite widespread concerns, international organizations and human rights groups had urged the government to extend this deadline.
Geo News reported on Tuesday, April 1st, that officials in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province confirmed the operation to expel Afghan migrants will proceed without extending the previous deadline.
From the morning of Tuesday, April 1, reports from major cities in Pakistan, including Karachi, Lahore, Peshawar, and Islamabad, indicated the start of security forces’ operations to identify and detain illegal migrants.
Illegal Afghan migrants, after being arrested, are transferred to temporary centers and then deported through border crossings to Afghanistan. Eyewitnesses report that police and security forces are conducting patrols in areas with large migrant populations and carrying out house-to-house inspections.
The United Nations, through the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), has repeatedly warned about the humanitarian consequences of these deportations.
These organizations have assessed that many Afghan migrants, who fled to Pakistan after the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, face serious risks such as harassment, insecurity, and lack of basic necessities if returned to their home country.
Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International have also criticized the forced deportations, arguing they violate international laws, particularly the principle of “Non-Refoulement.” Amnesty has called on Pakistan to halt this process.
The international community, including humanitarian organizations, is calling for an immediate stop to these deportations due to the potential human rights violations. The situation remains tense as thousands of vulnerable migrants face the risk of being sent back to uncertain and dangerous conditions in Afghanistan.
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