ISLAMABAD — Pakistan has expelled more than 825,600 Afghan nationals since September 2023 under its “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan,” the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a report on Friday, warning that the forced deportations have triggered widespread international concern.
What began as a voluntary repatriation program has increasingly turned into a compulsory expulsion effort, with Pakistani authorities ramping up detentions and deportations in recent months.
According to U.N. figures, 18,300 Afghans left Pakistan for Afghanistan in January 2024, including around 1,000 who were forcibly expelled.
Reports indicate that arrests of Afghan nationals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have surged in recent weeks. Pakistani security forces have detained Afghans regardless of their legal status, including individuals with valid refugee documents from the U.N. and Pakistani residency permits, raising alarm among human rights organizations.
During the same period, more than 800 of the forcibly deported Afghans came from just two cities—Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Women and children have been among those expelled, often without legal recourse or the opportunity to challenge their deportation.
The UNHCR has expressed deep concern over the escalating deportations and has called on Pakistani authorities to halt arbitrary arrests and forced expulsions of Afghan refugees.
Recent U.N. data also shows that 1,245 Afghan migrants were detained in January 2024, more than double the number recorded in January 2023. The sharp rise in arrests and deportations, particularly in the last quarter of 2023, has heightened fears among Afghan refugees who remain in Pakistan.
The crackdown has drawn strong criticism from human rights groups and international organizations, which have urged Pakistan to respect the rights of Afghan refugees and provide them with legal protections.
Pakistan has yet to formally respond to the U.N.’s call to suspend forced deportations.
