Pakistan has intensified its campaign to arrest and deport Afghan migrants following the expiration of a government deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave the country, with migrants reporting heightened police operations across several major cities.
The latest enforcement drive began two days after Pakistan’s July 10 deadline for Afghans without valid visas to leave voluntarily.
Afghan migrants in Pakistan said authorities are now detaining not only undocumented migrants but also Afghans whose visas or Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) have expired.
Pakistani authorities say the campaign is underway in Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.
The government has said only Afghan nationals holding valid visas will be permitted to remain in the country. Others, including many holding Afghan Citizen Cards and other temporary documents, face deportation.
According to figures released by the Taliban’s High Commission for Addressing Returnees’ Issues, more than 4,000 Afghans were deported from Pakistan in the past 24 hours.
Ahmad, an Afghan migrant living in Pakistan, said many families have been unable to renew their visas.
“Visas have effectively been unavailable for about a year,” he said. “If we are arrested and deported, we all know what the situation is like in Afghanistan. We fear retaliation by the Taliban.”
Paikar, an Afghan journalist living in Pakistan, said the government’s latest directive had created widespread anxiety among Afghan families.
“Pakistan announced that after July 10 everyone except those with valid visas would be deported,” he said. “All of us are worried about ourselves and our families.”
Pakistani media have reported that authorities have deported nearly 2.59 million Afghan migrants and refugees since launching their repatriation campaign in late 2023.
Those facing deportation include journalists, human rights activists, former Afghan government employees and former members of the country’s security forces.
Yasamin, another Afghan journalist in Pakistan, said many of those who fled after the Taliban returned to power in 2021 remain at risk.
“Those who sought refuge in Pakistan after 2021 are refugees, not ordinary migrants,” she said. “Returning them to Afghanistan could cost them their lives.”
The United Nations and international human rights organizations have repeatedly urged Pakistan to halt the forced deportations, warning that many returning Afghans could face persecution, arbitrary detention, torture or reprisals upon their return.
Pakistan says the deportation campaign is aimed at enforcing immigration laws and addressing national security concerns. Taliban, meanwhile, have called on neighboring countries to treat Afghan migrants with dignity and to facilitate their voluntary return.
