ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan has postponed a deadline for the deportation of hundreds of thousands of Afghans until after the Eid al-Fitr holidays, officials said Tuesday, without specifying an exact new date. While the Pakistani government has not publicly confirmed the extension’s duration, The Associated Press reported that deportations would resume on April 10.
The delay marks a temporary pause in Islamabad’s intensified campaign to expel Afghan nationals residing in the country without full legal documentation. Authorities had originally set March 31 as the deadline for Afghans holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) to leave the country voluntarily or face deportation.
According to the United Nations, more than 800,000 Afghans in Pakistan hold ACCs, which are issued by Pakistani authorities but do not confer refugee status. These individuals are now expected to depart once the revised deadline passes.
In addition to the ACC holders, over 1.3 million Afghans possess Proof of Registration (PoR) cards issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), which grant temporary protection. The government has ordered PoR cardholders living in Islamabad and the nearby city of Rawalpindi to relocate outside those urban areas, though they are not yet subject to deportation.
Pakistan currently hosts an estimated three million Afghan nationals, many of whom fled decades of war, conflict, and repression in their homeland. The refugee population increased significantly after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021.
Human rights groups have condemned Pakistan’s deportation drive. “Many have been living in the country for years, and going back means going back to nothing,” Moniza Kakar, a Pakistani human rights lawyer, told The Express Tribune.
The deportation campaign has also deepened tensions between Islamabad and Kabul. Pakistani officials accuse the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan of harboring militants responsible for a surge in cross-border violence, a charge the Taliban denies. In March, a Pakistani delegation traveled to Kabul to press for improved security coordination.
International organizations have urged Islamabad to halt the expulsions, warning that forced returns could expose vulnerable Afghans to persecution, homelessness, and economic hardship.
