ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will extend expired registration cards given to almost 1.5 million Afghans for a year, the prime minister said on Wednesday, after the UN refugee commissioner asked for a pause in the country’s plan to repatriate refugees.
It was not immediately clear whether the extension of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards that expired in June would exempt holders from any future deportations, and the Pakistani foreign office said the repatriation plan would continue.
“The cabinet accepted (the proposal) of a one-year extension of the PoR cards of 1.45 million Afghan legal residents that expired on June 30, 2024,” Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s office said in a statement.
The cards, which the UN describes as a “critical” identity document, would now be valid until June 30, 2025.
Islamabad began expelling undocumented foreigners, mostly Afghans, in November last year amid a row over accusations that Afghanistan harbors Pakistani Islamist militants, a charge its ruling Taliban deny.
Pakistan says it is also struggling to host millions of refugees as it grapples with an economic crisis.
Last year, Pakistan announced a huge drive to repatriate foreigners without visas, mostly the roughly 4 million Afghans who crossed the border during 40 years of armed conflict in their home country and after the Taliban seized power in 2021.
More than 500,000 Afghans have returned from Pakistan since the campaign was announced, according to UN figures.
The first phase of the plan targeted those who were not formally registered, though advocates and some of the PoR card holders said that in some cases they were also pressured by local authorities to leave.
Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, earlier this week wrapped up a three-day visit during which he called for the extension of the registration cards and said the international community should find more solutions for refugees and host countries such as Pakistan, a UNHCR statement said.
It said Grandi also appreciated that the repatriation plan had been suspended and sought assurances it would stay on hold.
A spokeswoman for Pakistan’s foreign office denied that the plan was on hold. “It may be noted that no such understanding has been given by Pakistan to the UNHCR, including in recent meetings with the High Commissioner for Refugees,” she said.
“IFRP (Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan) remains in place and is being implemented in an orderly and phased manner.”
Pakistan extends Afghan refugee registration cards for one year
https://arab.news/6npp9
Pakistan extends Afghan refugee registration cards for one year
- Pakistan extends one-year extension of refugee registration cards of 1.45 million Afghan residents that expired last year
- Development takes place day after UN refugee commissioner asked for pause in Pakistan’s plan to repatriate refugees
Pakistan says will press ahead with trilateral cooperation with China and Bangladesh
- Islamabad signals closer engagement with Dhaka amid shifting regional dynamics
- Trilateral platform gains traction after recent China-Pakistan strategic talks last week
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan said on Thursday it would continue to pursue a trilateral cooperation framework with China and Bangladesh aimed at boosting regional connectivity, trade and development, as consultations among the three countries move forward.
The framework, launched last year at the senior officials’ level, has gained renewed attention as ties between Pakistan and Bangladesh improve following years of limited engagement, while Dhaka’s relations with India, a longtime archrival of Pakistan, have come under strain amid domestic political upheaval.
Addressing reporters on Thursday, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesman Tahir Andrabi said Islamabad remained committed to the Pakistan-China-Bangladesh cooperation mechanism and intended to follow up on earlier consultations to deliver “practical outcomes.”
“On the Pakistan, Bangladesh and China mechanism, if you recall, a meeting took place last year [2025] at the level of vice ministers and foreign secretaries,” Andrabi told a weekly media briefing, adding that Pakistan looked forward to “positive outcomes” in line with an agreed joint communiqué.
“So of course, the consultations between the three of us would continue in the future to strive for outcomes which are beneficial for the peace, progress and prosperity of our people,” he said when asked specifically about Bangladesh’s role in the framework.
The trilateral cooperation was also referenced in a joint press communiqué issued after the Seventh Round of the China-Pakistan Foreign Ministers’ Strategic Dialogue held last week.
“The two sides expressed readiness to continue leveraging the China-Afghanistan-Pakistan Trilateral Foreign Ministers’
Dialogue and the China-Bangladesh-Pakistan cooperation mechanism to deliver new outcomes,” the statement said.
Andrabi said Pakistan’s engagement with China would continue across bilateral and trilateral formats, underscoring Islamabad’s preference for cooperative regional approaches focused on economic development rather than bloc politics.
Bangladesh was part of Pakistan until 1971, when it gained independence following a bloody war of independence. Relations between the two countries have shown signs of improvement in recent months, as Dhaka recalibrates its foreign policy after the ouster of former prime minister Sheikh Hasina in 2024. India has so far declined Bangladesh’s request to extradite Hasina, who fled to New Delhi after violent student-led protests.
In a related development, Pakistan’s Air Chief Marshal Zaheer Ahmed Baber Sidhu earlier this week held talks with a high-level Bangladeshi defense delegation on strengthening air force cooperation, including the potential sale of JF-17 Thunder fighter jets jointly developed by Pakistan and China.
