Pakistan to expel all Afghan refugees regardless of status
2 Min Read
The decision comes as part of a wider effort to expel all undocumented Afghan refugees from the country under the allegation that they're part of terrorist and illegal activity in Pakistan.
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An Afghan boy sits over his family's belongings retrieved from their damaged mud homes demolished by authorities during a crackdown on illegal settlement and immigrants, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan, on November 1, 2023. (AP)
Pakistan announced that it plans to expel all Afghan refugees from its lands, regardless of whether they hold a residence permit or not.
The decision was relayed to the Afghan embassy in Pakistan by the country's Foreign Ministry, which stated that Afghans can only stay with a visa.
The decision is final and targets holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) and Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, both of which will be rendered void according to Afghanistan's Ambassador to Pakistan, Sardar Ahmad Shakeeb.
Shakeeb adds, "However, their [Pakistani] cabinet has extended the validity of the PoR cards until June 30. After that, they will have no legal status - those who leave voluntarily can do so, but others will be forcibly deported."
The decision reportedly comes after the rise in terrorist attacks, which the Pakistani government blames on Afghanis and members of the Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan extremist group, while the Afghan government denied any involvement in the attacks.
The UN's International Migration Organization estimates that Pakistan has repatriated nearly 825,000 Afghan refugees since September 15, 2023, including 18,500 refugees who were expelled in January 2025 alone.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation of Afghanistan condemned on Sunday the hostile actions Pakistan was taking against Afghan refugees after Pakistani police raided the homes of Afghan refugees on Saturday.
Last month, the Prime Minister of Pakistan Shehbaz Sharif approved March 31 as a deadline to deport refugees who are waiting to be relocated to another country unless the governments who agreed to take them process their cases as soon as possible.
