Pakistani authorities on Wednesday initiated the dismantling of mud houses in an Afghan colony situated on the outskirts of Islamabad, imposing a midnight deadline for undocumented refugees to either leave voluntarily or face expulsion.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has issued a stern warning, expressing deep concern that Pakistan’s planned expulsion of more than a million “undocumented” foreign nationals poses a severe risk of triggering a human rights catastrophe.
Pakistan, last month, officially announced November 1 as the commencement date for the expulsion of all undocumented immigrants, which includes hundreds of thousands of Afghans. The government cited security reasons as the primary motivation behind this move, disregarding calls for reconsideration from the United Nations, various rights groups, and Western embassies.
Residents of the demolished Afghan colony, who had been given a mere two-week notice to vacate the premises, voiced their grievances over the insufficient time provided. Some among those ordered to leave have spent decades residing in Pakistan.
“I possess this identity card, but the police claim it’s not valid. This is my card. We can’t even secure a house for rent. They say, ‘This card is not stamped; get it stamped by the police station.’ But the police are unwilling to stamp it. Now that they’ve destroyed my house, I’ve decided to return to Kabul,” lamented Afghan laborer Khayal Gul.
“We are immensely thankful to the government for the treatment we have received. We’ve had a pleasant time here. I am 45 years old and have spent my entire life in Pakistan. We came here during the Russian invasion. I was born here, and I’ve never been to Afghanistan. We arrived here as infants, and now the Pakistani government has treated us in this manner. Look at our houses, look at the situation we are in,” expressed Agha Jan, an Afghan refugee whose house had been demolished.
According to the interior ministry, 140,322 people had already voluntarily left the country, as trucks loaded with belongings and packed with individuals congested major roadways during the preceding days.
