Afghan refugees at a camp near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham.
Afghan refugees at a camp near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham.
In a refugee settlement on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, Afghan families gathered on Sunday to observe the festival of Eid al-Fitr — not in joyous celebration, but in quiet apprehension.
Pakistan plans to expel 3 million Afghans from the country this year, as a deadline for them to voluntarily leave the capital and surrounding areas expired on Monday.
It’s the latest phase of a nationwide crackdown launched in October 2023 to expel foreigners living in Pakistan illegally, mostly Afghans. The campaign has drawn fire from rights groups, the Taliban government, and the UN.
Arrests and deportations were due to begin April 1 but were pushed back to April 10 because of the Eid al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramzan, according to government documents seen by The Associated Press.
Since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, millions of Afghans have sought refuge in neighboring Pakistan, fleeing waves of violence and instability. Over the decades, many have returned home, but conflict and political upheaval continue to send hundreds of thousands back.
The latest wave of displacement followed the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, after the collapse of Ashraf Ghani’s US-backed government. They included refugees who were promised resettlement in the US.
Many now face mandatory repatriation, with a Monday, March 31 deadline — a decision that was announced only last month, sparking widespread fear.
“As a fellow Muslim nation and a neighbour, Pakistan should show compassion and grant refugees more time to prepare,” said Haji Abdullah Bukhari, a community leader in Karachi. “Uprooting their lives in just a few days is impossible. Many have spent decades here, and now they are being forced to return to a country they barely know”.
Pakistan’s ongoing deportation of Afghan refugees stems from growing frustration with the Taliban administration, which it accuses of sheltering Pakistani militants, particularly Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, responsible for deadly attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban deny these allegations, but tensions continue to rise.
In 2023, Pakistan expelled hundreds of thousands of Afghans, both documented and undocumented. However, most refugees awaiting resettlement in Western countries were largely spared thanks to diplomatic interventions.
Their fate, however, became increasingly uncertain in January when President Trump issued an executive order suspending all refugee admissions to the US. This decision left thousands of Afghans stranded in Pakistan.
In February, Pakistan announced its plans to repatriate Afghan nationals awaiting resettlement by March 31, along with 8,00,000 Pakistan-issued Afghan Citizenship Card holders and an unknown number of undocumented Afghan migrants.
The decision has sparked widespread unease, particularly among those most vulnerable to Taliban persecution, including former Afghan government and security officials, women’s rights activists and journalists.
“Many have told us they fear prison, torture, or even execution if Pakistan forcibly sends them back to Afghanistan,” said Moniza Kakar, a lawyer with the Joint Action Committee for Refugees, a Pakistani civil society network that advocates for international intervention and support to safeguard lives.
Avaaz, a global campaign working to secure humanitarian visas for a group of 60 Afghan women’s rights activists stuck in Pakistan, has also voiced deep concern over the deportation drive.
Among those affected is Samia Hamza, a women’s rights activist and former law and international relations student under the US-funded Denton Programme. After the Taliban seized power, she protested against the ban on girls’ education, further endangering herself.
As conditions worsened in late 2021, she fled to Pakistan. However, she has since faced severe discrimination and economic hardship while awaiting US resettlement through the special immigration visas for Afghans programme.
Like many Afghans, she was devastated by the Trump administration’s decision to halt new immigrants. “We have heard nothing about our case since then,” said Hamza, who lives with her husband and four children in Islamabad. “With the threat of deportation, returning to Afghanistan means facing grave danger.”
The Pakistani government has ruled out extending the deportation deadline despite appeals from international organisations and the Taliban administration. Justifying its crackdown on Afghans, the government has drawn parallels to ongoing deportation efforts in the US and various European countries.