In a new expulsion campaign, Pakistan is forcing many Afghans out of the country

Pakistan is expelling many Afghans ahead of a government deadline for undocumented foreigners to leave or face deportation, mostly impacting Afghans who compose the majority of migrants in the country.

The backdrop: Pakistan’s new anti-migrant crackdown, targeting all undocumented or unregistered foreigners, has triggered criticism from U.N. agencies, human rights groups, and the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan.
* Pakistani officials have warned of arrest and deportation for illegal migrants after October 31st.
* While the government denies specifically targeting Afghans, the expulsion campaign coincides with strained relations between Pakistan and the Taliban.

Irregular migration: Over 2 million undocumented Afghans reside in Pakistan, among whom at least 600,000 fled post the Taliban takeover in 2021.
* More than 200,000 Afghans have returned since the crackdown, according to Pakistani officials.
* Human Right Watch accuses Pakistan of using “threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghan asylum seekers without legal status” to return to Afghanistan.

The fear of expulsion: Many Afghans, like Mohammad Amin and Nasrullah Khan, are leaving Pakistan to avoid getting arrested, despite their deep-rooted connections and years of residence in the country.
* Pakistan has stated that deportations will be done in a “phased and orderly” manner.
* Pakistani officials have also extended the daily closing time of the Torkam and Chaman border crossings with Afghanistan to allow a larger exodus.

Processing difficulties: The Pakistani crackdown poses difficulties for thousands of Afghans in Pakistan awaiting relocation to the U.S. under a special refugee program.
* According to a U.S. diplomat, Washington intends to facilitate the safe and efficient relocation of more than 25,000 eligible Afghans in Pakistan to the U.S.
* The U.S. had appealed to Islamabad to protect Afghan refugees and asylum seekers prior to this campaign’s announcement.
View original article on NPR
This summary was created by an AI system. The use of this summary is subject to our Terms of Service.

Contact us about this post

Posted

in

by

Tags:

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *