ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has repatriated 691,853 Afghan nationals residing in the country illegally, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Sunday, as the South Asian nation continues its deportation drive launched last year that has earned the ire of international rights organizations.
Pakistan launched a deportation drive against what it said were illegal immigrants in the country last year after a spike in suicide bombings that Islamabad, without proof, blamed on Afghan nationals in the country. Pakistan also said Afghan citizens were involved in smuggling and other crimes in the country.
A cash-strapped Pakistan navigating record inflation, alongside a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program last year, had also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
“The voluntarily repatriation of Afghans residing illegally in Pakistan is continuing,” Radio Pakistan said a a report. “A total of 691,853 Afghan refugees have so far been repatriated.”
The state broadcaster said the voluntary return of Afghans to their homeland “is commendable,” adding that it would produce “positive results” for both countries.
Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees, of which around 1.7 million were undocumented, as per government figures.
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.
However, Pakistan’s move to deport Afghan nationals irked the Taliban-led government in Afghanistan, which called upon Islamabad to treat its nationals with dignity.
International rights organizations have also called on Pakistan to review its decision, warning that Afghan nationals deported may suffer from poverty and could face retaliation at the hands of the Afghan Taliban in their homeland.
