Deadline looms for Pakistan’s Afghan refugees, tensions soar
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s deadline to expel Afghan refugees by March 31 is intensifying a bitter standoff with Afghanistan, pushing their fragile relationship to the brink.
The policy, part of Islamabad’s “Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan”, targets over 800,000 Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and countless others without documents, sparking a humanitarian crisis and diplomatic rifts. For Afghans like Zahra, a 32-year-old mother in Rawalpindi, the stakes are personal: “We fled war once. Now they are sending us back to it.”
Since the expulsion drive kicked off in late 2023, over 842,000 Afghans have left Pakistan, with more than 40,000 forcibly deported, according to govt figures.
Authorities have urged voluntary departures before the deadline, warning of mass deportation starting April 1. Yet, a glimmer of hope emerged this week for some when Rana Sanaullah, a senior adviser to PM Shehbaz Sharif, suggested that the cutoff might be reconsidered -- a rare hint of flexibility amid unrelenting pressure.
The Afghan embassy in Islamabad has slammed Pakistan, accusing it of using arrests and harassment to drive out all Afghans, not just the undocumented.
Pakistan’s foreign ministry fired back, insisting its actions target only illegal migrants. The tit-for-tat has fueled a narrative of distrust, with Islamabad blaming Afghan soil for cross-border attacks and Kabul rejecting the claims outright.
Pakistani officials link Afghan refugees to rising militancy and crime. The Taliban denies the charge, urging Pakistan to stop scapegoating its citizens.
On the ground, fear grips Afghan communities. In Peshawar, Karachi and other Pakistani cities, businesses are shuttering as families brace for the worst. Many hold valid papers or await resettlement in the US -- delayed by policies like US refugee program’s suspension under President Donald Trump -- but face police raids nonetheless.
UN reports a 45-fold surge in arrests in Islamabad and Rawalpindi since early 2024, with rights groups decrying beatings and detentions of even documented Afghans.