Authorities in Pakistan’s Punjab province have introduced cash rewards for citizens who report undocumented Afghan migrants, according to a report by Geo News, in the latest escalation of the country’s campaign to identify and deport immigrants without legal residency.
Uzma Bukhari, Punjab’s information minister, said the crackdown on undocumented foreigners continues across the province and that residents who provide “credible information” leading to arrests will receive financial compensation from the government.
She added that 6,220 Afghan nationals have been deported from Punjab in the past three weeks alone.
The move comes amid one of Pakistan’s largest-ever repatriation drives. Geo News noted that Pakistan has carried out multiple waves of mass returns over the past two decades, including between 2002 and 2005, when the first large group of Afghan refugees left the country, and in 2016, when the government launched a “National Action Plan” that resulted in the return of 370,000 Afghans and the issuance of “citizen cards” to 800,000 others.
Pakistani officials say operations to identify and remove undocumented foreigners will continue.
The arrests and deportations have intensified in recent months following rising political tensions and sporadic border clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan. Afghan migrants say the pressure has increased sharply, with police warning landlords in Islamabad to evict tenants without valid papers and authorities refusing to renew visas.
Human rights groups and international organizations have criticized Pakistan’s mass deportations, warning that many Afghans face grave risks if forced to return.
