ISLAMABAD: The United States State Department has appointed Pakistani-American businessman and entrepreneur Dilawar Syed the new Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs.
The special representative is responsible for advancing trade, commercial, and economic policies for America’s workers and the middle-class to help create well-paying jobs and strengthen American communities.
“The Department of State is pleased to announce Dilawar Syed as the new Special Representative for Commercial and Business Affairs,” a statement from the State Department said. “Special Representative Syed brings a strong background in business and entrepreneurship, having built global enterprises in the fields of technology, health care, and business services.”
Gautam Raghavan, Director, White House Office of Presidential Personnel, said he was grateful to Syed for agreeing to take on the role.
“Proud to call this talented leader & public servant a colleague,” he said on Twitter.
Syed immigrated to the US as a college student to attend the College of Wooster in Ohio, according to the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan (APP). He earned his Bachelor of Arts in economics and computer science from the University of Texas at Austin and a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, it added.
The newly appointed special representative has worked at the federal and state levels where he advanced commercial and economic policies that benefitted American workers and businesses, said the State Department.
During the Barack Obama administration, Syed played an important role in promoting the State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program. He also connected Silicon Valley innovators with emerging entrepreneurial ecosystems in the US.
“As the founding Chair of the California Entrepreneurship Task Force, Special Representative Syed drove inclusive entrepreneurship that bridged coastal regions with the state’s rural heartland and helped small businesses struggling with the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic,” the State Department press release said.
State Department appoints Pakistani-American as special representative for commercial and business affairs
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State Department appoints Pakistani-American as special representative for commercial and business affairs
- Dilawar Syed has worked at the federal and state levels where he advanced commercial and economic policies
- During Obama administration, Syed played important role in promoting State Department’s Global Entrepreneurship Program
UN agencies report spike in Afghan arrests as nearly two million return from Pakistan
- UNHCR and IOM data show weekly spike in detentions, with Balochistan emerging as main hotspot
- International rights groups say the deportation drive risks violating international protection obligations
ISLAMABAD: United Nations agencies for refugees and migration recorded a sharp rise in the arrest and detention of Afghan nationals in Pakistan since the beginning of the year, highlighting in a report this week that about two million Afghans have been repatriated to their country since late 2023.
According to a joint report released by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the scale of the movement has gone up significantly.
“During the reporting period (4 – 10 January), a total of 1,726 Afghan nationals were arrested and detained, marking an 18 percent increase compared to the previous week,” the report said. “Cumulatively, from 15 September 2023 to 10 January 2026, 1,957,694 individuals have returned.”
The mass migration and deportation drive began on November 1, 2023, after Pakistani authorities announced a repatriation plan for “illegal immigrants,” mostly Afghans. The decision followed a spike in suicide bombings, which the Pakistani government said were carried out by Afghan nationals or by militants launching cross-border attacks from neighboring Afghanistan.
Islamabad has also blamed illegal Afghan immigrants and refugees for involvement in smuggling and other crimes, though Afghanistan denies the allegations.
In 2025, Pakistan expanded the scope of its deportation drive, moving beyond undocumented foreign nationals to include holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC). The campaign was later extended to bearers of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards after their validity expired in June.
While PoR cards were meant to recognize Afghan refugees under a formal registration framework, ACCs were merely introduced to document Afghan nationality without conferring refugee status on those in possession of them.
“Out of all arrests and detentions during the reporting period ... ACC holders and undocumented Afghans represented 87 percent of the total rate of arrest and detentions, and PoR holders represented 13 percent,” the report said.
In addition to the arrests, the reporting period saw a marked increase in activity at the border. Between January 4 and January 10, 2026, alone, an estimated 19,666 Afghans returned through various crossing points including Torkham and Chaman, representing a 38 percent increase in returns and a 17 percent increase in deportations compared to the week prior.
The UN report noted that “fear of arrest remained the main reason for return among undocumented individuals and ACC holders (95 percent)” while PoR card holders cited “strict border entry requirements” as their primary driver for leaving.
Geographically, 73 percent of recent arrests occurred in Balochistan, with the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) also being a focal point with 16 percent of the total arrests following government directives for Afghans to relocate from the capital.
Earlier in January, Amnesty International renewed pressure on Islamabad, urging it to stop deportations.
“Amnesty International calls on the Pakistani authorities to halt the deportation of Afghan refugees and ensure that individuals with international protection needs are safeguarded as per international human rights law,” it said in an open letter addressed to Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif.
Amnesty maintained Pakistan’s repatriation policy violated the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning refugees to countries where they could face persecution or serious harm, and described the campaign as potentially “one of the largest forcible returns of refugees in modern history.”
