Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to immediately stop deporting Afghan refugees and to honor its obligations under international law, warning that the forced returns are placing thousands — particularly women and girls — at risk of violence, persecution and severe rights violations under Taliban rule.
Since April 2025, when Pakistan began the second phase of its “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan,” more than 226,000 Afghan nationals have returned to Afghanistan, according to data from the International Organization for Migration. Of those, 42,306 were formally deported, while the rest left under pressure. Among the returnees were 115,319 women and girls, many of whom face a future in Afghanistan where they are barred from education, employment and public life.
Amnesty warned that refugees who remain in Pakistan are also being subjected to harassment and arbitrary detention. The third and final phase of the government’s expulsion campaign — slated to begin after June 30 — would target Afghan refugees holding UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, which are set to expire in just nine days. There are currently more than 1.4 million PoR cardholders in Pakistan.
“The Pakistani government must halt all deportations and extend the legal status of Afghan refugees who remain in the country,” Amnesty said in a statement. “Deporting them to a country where their lives and freedoms are in danger is a clear violation of international law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement.”
The principle of non-refoulement prohibits the return of individuals to countries where they are likely to face serious threats to their life or freedom. Amnesty noted that many of those being forced to return — including former officials, human rights defenders, artists and journalists — are particularly vulnerable under the Taliban’s harsh and repressive policies.
The rights group also emphasized that many Afghan refugees are still awaiting third-country resettlement or asylum application outcomes, and that mass deportations could leave them homeless, stateless or in legal limbo.
Amnesty urged international actors and the public to pressure Pakistani authorities, including Interior Minister Mohsin Raza Naqvi, to cancel the deportation plan and renew refugee protections without delay.
