Detention and Premature Expulsion of Afghan Refugees from Pakistan Intensifies

While the Pakistani government had given Afghan refugees residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi until the end of March 2025 to leave these cities, operations for their detention and expulsion have begun days ahead of schedule. Reports indicate that hundreds of detained Afghans held temporary residence cards (ACC). Maywand Alimi, head of the Afghan Refugees Coordination Council in Islamabad, told Radio Free Europe’s Afghan service that nearly a thousand Afghans have been detained by police in Punjab and Rawalpindi in recent weeks. According to him, 213 of these individuals have been expelled to Afghanistan. He described the situation of the refugees as 'very dire' and stated that many of them are unaware of their legal rights and immigration processes. In other areas, such as Landi Kotal in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, temporary camps have been established, and it is expected that Afghan refugees from various locations will be transferred there and subsequently expelled. Some of these individuals have told the media that leaving Pakistan within the designated timeframe is not possible for them, as many were born in Pakistan and have established their lives there. Firdous, one of the refugees, told Radio Free Europe: 'I sell dry bread. It would be better if they gave us more time. A sudden expulsion is not the right thing to do. My family has settled here. We have no home or work in Afghanistan.' The uncertain future of thousands of Afghans seeking to migrate to America. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), over 1.5 million Afghans with permanent residence cards or Afghan citizenship live in Pakistan, and about 800,000 ACC cardholders are now at risk of expulsion. Permanent residents are allowed to stay in Pakistan until the end of June 2025. Philippa Kandler, UNHCR representative in Pakistan, in a statement on the occasion of Eid al-Fitr, urged the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to facilitate the 'voluntary return without fear of harassment and discrimination' for Afghans. She emphasized the need to create a safe environment in Afghanistan for the sustainable return of refugees, especially women and girls. Since November 2023, the Pakistani government has forcibly returned over 800,000 Afghan refugees to their country. This action has faced criticism and concern from international organizations, including the UN and the International Organization for Migration.