FazTimes Media, Islamabad, 22 Oct: Pakistan has accelerated its campaign to expel Afghan refugees, marking a sharp escalation in the government’s efforts to remove undocumented foreigners amid growing friction with the Taliban administration in Kabul. The move has reignited global concern over the fate of hundreds of thousands of Afghans who have lived in Pakistan for decades, many of whom now face an uncertain future.

For 45-year-old Allah Meer, Pakistan is the only home he has ever known. Born to Afghan parents who fled their homeland during the Soviet invasion of 1979, Meer grew up in a refugee settlement in Kohat, northwestern Pakistan. “I was born here, studied here, and married here,” he told FazTimes Media. “Now they want us to leave for a place we don’t even know.”

Long-time Guests Now Unwelcome

Pakistan has been home to millions of Afghan refugees for more than four decades. Successive wars—from the Soviet occupation to the U.S.-led invasion and the Taliban’s return to power in 2021—forced waves of Afghans to seek safety across the border.

But Islamabad’s stance has hardened recently. As relations with the Taliban government soured, Pakistani officials accused Kabul of harboring armed groups responsible for deadly cross-border attacks. Authorities now argue that undocumented Afghans pose a security threat and strain the country’s economy.

Last week, the government announced plans to close all 54 Afghan refugee villages across the country, including long-standing settlements in Kohat, Quetta, and Peshawar. The move is part of a wider deportation campaign launched in 2023 that Islamabad says targets “illegal foreigners.”

The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) estimates that more than 1.5 million Afghans have left Pakistan—voluntarily or by force—since the drive began. Human rights organizations warn that the policy risks creating a humanitarian disaster at a time when Afghanistan itself remains unstable and impoverished.

Papers No Longer Protect Refugees

Many Afghans living in Pakistan for decades have held official documents allowing them to stay. The UNHCR’s Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, introduced in 2006, and Pakistan’s Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), issued in 2017, provided limited legal protection. But from June 2025, the Pakistani government stopped renewing both types of cards, rendering them invalid.

“We all have UNHCR cards, but now they mean nothing,” said Meer, who runs a small vocational program for refugee children. “Without ID, you can’t open a bank account, get medicine, or even prove you exist.”

According to Qaiser Khan Afridi, UNHCR’s spokesperson in Pakistan, around 1.2 million PoR cardholders, 737,000 ACC holders, and more than 100,000 asylum seekers remain in the country. The UNHCR has urged Pakistan to ensure that any repatriation is “voluntary, safe, and dignified.”

“For over 45 years, Pakistan has shown extraordinary generosity,” Afridi said. “But many of these people have no homes or support networks left in Afghanistan. Forced returns will only deepen their suffering.”

Border Tensions Add to Crisis

Relations between Pakistan and the Taliban have deteriorated sharply this year. Earlier in October, fighting broke out between border forces near Torkham, a key crossing point, after Pakistani troops accused Afghan fighters of encroachment.

Though both sides later agreed to a temporary ceasefire in Doha, tensions remain high. Talks are expected to continue in Istanbul later this month, but diplomats warn that mutual distrust runs deep.

Analysts believe Pakistan’s refugee crackdown is partly aimed at pressuring Kabul over its alleged support for the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an armed group blamed for a surge in attacks inside Pakistan.

“Islamabad is using deportations as leverage,” said political analyst Dr. Fawad Shams. “It’s a message to the Taliban that Pakistan’s patience is running out.”

Refugees Trapped Between Two Nations

For families like Meer’s, the consequences are devastating. Many refugees born and raised in Pakistan have little connection to Afghanistan. Some have never crossed the border.

“In our village, we have people who’ve lived here since the 1980s,” Meer said. “Their children don’t even speak Pashto well enough to survive there. They will be strangers in their country.”

Even those who return voluntarily often face bleak conditions. According to rights groups, deported families are ending up in makeshift camps near Nangarhar and Kandahar, lacking food, water, and shelter. The Taliban government, already struggling with economic collapse, is ill-equipped to handle the influx.

Humanitarian Groups Warn of “Man-Made Crisis”

International organizations have condemned the deportations, describing them as a violation of refugee rights. Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch say that sending people back to a country where they face persecution or extreme hardship breaches international law.

“Pakistan’s decision to close refugee villages will push hundreds of thousands into poverty and statelessness,” said an Amnesty researcher. “This is a man-made crisis, not a migration issue.”

UNHCR has called for an extension of the PoR and ACC validity and a coordinated repatriation plan. It has also urged donor countries to increase funding for Afghan refugees in Pakistan, where economic conditions have worsened amid inflation and job shortages.

“We Are Illegal in Our Own Home”

For now, Meer and his extended family remain in their small village, unsure what will come next. They fear police raids and mass arrests. Many have stopped sending their children to school.

“We are being treated as if we never existed,” Meer said quietly. “We are illegal in our own home.”

Despite the uncertainty, he says leaving would mean abandoning everything his family had built over generations. “We have lived and died here. If they send us back, it will be like tearing our roots out of the ground.”

Reference

Source: Al Jazeera – Pakistan speeds up expulsion of Afghan refugees amid tensions with Taliban

By FazTimes Media
This article is an original rewrite created for informational and journalistic purposes, based on publicly available sources. It complies with Google AdSense’s quality and originality guidelines.

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