ISLAMABAD: Over 650,000 Afghans living in Pakistan have been repatriated to their home country since the government launched a deportation drive last year, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said on Monday, with at least 15,727 expelled in the last two weeks.
Until November before it began the deportation drive, Pakistan was home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom 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.
The expulsion drive was launched after a spike in suicide bombings since last year which the Pakistan government — without providing evidence — says mostly involves Afghans. Islamabad has also blamed them for smuggling and other militant violence and crime. At the time, cash-strapped Pakistan, navigating record inflation and a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program, also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but all those living illegally in Pakistan.
“According to the latest statistics, 15,727 Afghans returned to their country over the last two weeks,” Radio Pakistan said on Monday. ” With this, the figure of Afghan returnees has reached 653,154.”
Last week, the South Asian state decided to extend by a year the deadline of UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards given to almost 1.5 million Afghans after the UN refugee commissioner asked for a pause in the country’s plan to repatriate refugees.
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 hold Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three is expected to target those with UNHCR-issued PoR cards.
The deportation drive has led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s crackdown on undocumented migrants has also drawn sweeping criticism from the United Nations, aid agencies and human rights groups.
Over 650,000 ‘illegal’ Afghans expelled from Pakistan since deportation drive began last year
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Over 650,000 ‘illegal’ Afghans expelled from Pakistan since deportation drive began last year
- 15,727 Afghan nationals returned to Afghanistan in last two weeks, Radio Pakistan says
- Islamabad accuses Afghans of being behind spate of recent militant attacks in Pakistan
Pakistan says mosque data collection in Indian-administered Kashmir violates religious freedom
- Indian police distributed forms to collect details of mosques, including finances of institutions and personal details of imams
- The exercise has triggered widespread concern in the territory, with a local leader calling it ‘infringement of the religious freedom’
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Saturday condemned reported profiling of mosques and their management committees in Indian-administered Kashmir, calling it “blatant intrusion into religious affairs.”
Police distributed forms to local officials to collect details of mosques, seminaries in Indian-administered Kashmir, including finances of the institutions, personal details of imams and members of management committees, Hindustan Times reported this week, citing residents.
The police referred to the busting of a “white collar terror module” last year, which included an imam, as the reason for the exercise that has triggered widespread concern in the territory, with National Conference leader Aga Ruhullah Mehdi calling it “infringement of the religious freedom.”
Pakistan’s foreign office said the forcible collection of personal details, photographs and sectarian affiliations of religious functionaries amounts to systematic harassment, aimed at “instilling fear among worshippers and obstructing the free exercise of their faith.”
“This blatant intrusion into religious affairs constitutes a grave violation of the fundamental right to freedom of religion and belief, and reflects yet another coercive attempt to intimidate and marginalize the Muslim population of the occupied territory,” the Pakistani foreign office said.
There was no immediate response from New Delhi to the statement.
Kashmir has been divided between Pakistan and India since their independence from Britain in 1947. Both countries have fought two of their four wars over the disputed region, which is ruled in part but claimed in its entirety by both India and Pakistan.
The Pakistani foreign office said the people of Indian-administered Kashmir possess an inalienable right to practice their religion “without fear, coercion or discrimination.”
“Pakistan will continue to stand in solidarity with them and will persist in raising its voice against all forms of religious persecution and intolerance targeting Kashmiris,” it added.
