Close to 600,000 Afghans expelled from Pakistan since deportation drive launched last year

ISLAMABAD: The repatriation of illegal foreigners living in Pakistan continues with more than 10,000 Afghan nationals expelled over the last ten days, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said on Thursday, bringing the total number of those deported close to 600,000. 
The government launched a deportation drive last year after a spike in suicide bombings which the Pakistan government, without providing any evidence, says were carried out by Afghan nationals. Islamabad has also blamed them for smuggling, militant violence and other crimes. 
A cash-strapped Pakistan that was navigating its record inflation, alongside a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program last year, had also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
“590,445 Afghans have so far been repatriated to Afghanistan,” Radio Pakistan said on Thursday. “According to the latest statistics, 13,206 Afghan nationals returned to their country over the last ten days.”
Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees out of which around 1.7 million were undocumented. 
Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but at all those living illegally in Pakistan. 
In October 2023, Pakistan announced phase one of the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan” with a 30-day deadline for “undocumented” aliens to leave the country or be subject to deportation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk.
In phase two of the “repatriation plan,” around 600,00 Afghans who held Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three was expected to target those with UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.
In April, the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) issued a notification validating the extension of the POR card till June 30 this year.
Before the deportation drive, many people used to cross the Pak-Afghan border back and forth for business and personal purposes daily. The main entry points into Afghanistan are the borders in the Kandahar and Nangarhar provinces.
The deportation drive had led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. The Taliban deny militants are using Afghan soil to launch attacks, calling Pakistan’s security challenges a domestic issue.