ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar held discussions with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) Filippo Grandi, state-media reported on Friday, with a focus on cooperating on the issue of Afghan refugees and recent attacks on Islamabad’s missions abroad allegedly by members of the Afghan diaspora.
Last weekend, a large crowd of people carrying Afghanistan’s flags trespassed the fence into the Pakistani consulate in Frankfurt and took down the Pakistan national flag hoisted atop the building, according to videos posted on social media. The attackers, who Pakistani media and some officials alleged were Afghan nationals, also pelted stones during the attack.
“The recent attacks and violent demonstrations by Afghani diaspora against Pakistan’s Diplomatic Missions in Frankfurt, London and Brussels also came under discussion,” Radio Pakistan said about Dar’s call with Grandi.
The two officials also “agreed to continue to work together to advance Pakistan-UNHCR cooperation and find a lasting solution to the issue of Afghan refugees.”
Relations between Afghanistan and Pakistan have soured since last year when Islamabad launched a deportation drive against illegal foreigners. Over 650,000 Afghans have been repatriated to their home country since.
The expulsion drive was launched after a spike in suicide bombings that Islamabad — without providing evidence — says mostly involved Afghans. Pakistan 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.
Phase one of the ‘Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan’ put 1.4 million so-called “undocumented” Afghan refugees at risk. In phase two, 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. Last month Pakistan extended the deadline of PoR cards by a year following a request by Grandi.
Until November last year 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.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but all those living illegally in Pakistan, but the campaign has disproportionately targeted Afghan nationals.
Pakistan Deputy PM, UNHCR chief discuss Afghan refugee crisis, attacks on Islamabad’s missions abroad
https://arab.news/bhaj4
Pakistan Deputy PM, UNHCR chief discuss Afghan refugee crisis, attacks on Islamabad’s missions abroad
- People carrying Afghanistan flags attacked Pakistan’s Frankfurt consulate last weekend
- Over 650,000 Afghans deported since last year when Pakistan launched expulsion drive
Pakistan rejects Amnesty claims of Israeli spyware use, calls reports ‘disinformation’
- FO denies any link with Israel, says Pakistan has “absolutely no cooperation” on surveillance tools
- Islamabad accuses India of delaying clearance for relief aircraft bound for flood-hit Sri Lanka
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan on Friday rejected an Amnesty International report alleging the use of Israeli-made invasive spyware in the country, calling the findings speculative and misleading.
Amnesty’s investigation, published Thursday under the title Intellexa Leaks, cited the case of a Pakistan-based human rights lawyer who reported receiving a suspicious WhatsApp link in 2025. According to Amnesty International’s Security Lab, the link bore signatures consistent with Predator, a spyware product developed by Israeli manufacturer c
Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi dismissed the suggestion that Islamabad had deployed the tool or maintained any technological cooperation with Israel.
“These are all media speculations. These are all rumor-mongering and disinformation. There is absolutely no cooperation between Pakistan and Israel on anything, let alone a spyware or these kinds of tools. So, I would reject it quite emphatically,” he said at a weekly briefing.
Andrabi also accused India of obstructing humanitarian operations, saying New Delhi delayed flight clearance for a Pakistani relief aircraft carrying aid to flood-affected Sri Lanka.
“The special aircraft carrying Pakistan’s relief goods had to wait for 48 hours, in fact more than 48 hours, around 60 hours, while the flight clearance from India was delayed,” he said.
He added that the eventual conditional flight window was too narrow to be workable.
“The partial flight clearance which eventually was given after 48 hours was operationally impractical, time-bound just for a few hours and hence not operable, severely hindering the urgent need for the relief mission for the brotherly people of Sri Lanka,” Andrabi stated.
“Humanitarian assistance is like justice, if it is delayed, it is denied.”
Responding to India’s claim that clearance was granted within four hours, he said Pakistan has documentary proof contradicting New Delhi’s version.
On a separate question about reported delays in the arrival of a Turkish delegation aimed at mediating between Islamabad and Kabul, Andrabi said Pakistan welcomed Ankara’s initiative but was unaware of the cause of postponement.
“We stand ready to receive the Turkish delegation. That delegation has not arrived as yet. And I’m not aware of any schedule. Pakistan is ready to hold negotiations, discussions,” he said, adding that the delay may be linked to coordination with the Afghan side.
