More than 500 Afghan migrants have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan over the past two days, including nearly 200 holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), Pakistani media reported, citing government officials.
According to Dawn, officials said that 153 ACC holders left for Afghanistan on Wednesday, while another 40 departed on Thursday night. Authorities added that migrants were also transferred from various provinces to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa before being deported through the Torkham border crossing.
In total, 184 Afghan nationals were moved from Sargodha to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, while 134 were transported from Gujrat. All were processed and deported following registration with Pakistan’s National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), officials said.
“The voluntary repatriation of the ACC holders is under way, and so far, over 193 people have returned to Afghanistan,” a senior official told Dawn.
Meanwhile, Asmatullah Shah, Pakistan’s chief commissioner for Afghan refugees, along with officials from the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa refugee commissionerate, visited key transit points as part of the second phase of repatriations. According to an official statement, Shah met with representatives from NADRA, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA), the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), and other stakeholders to monitor arrangements and services at the centers.
The development comes as Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Governor Ali Amin Gandapur publicly criticized the federal government’s handling of the deportations on Friday, asserting that no Afghan migrant would be forcefully expelled from the province.
