ISLAMABAD: Pakistan wants to remove all Afghan refugees from the country and they face expulsion in the near future, the Afghan embassy in Islamabad warned Wednesday.
The embassy issued a strongly worded statement about Pakistan’s plans, saying Afghan nationals in the capital, Islamabad, and the nearby garrison city of Rawalpindi have been subjected to arrests, searches, and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan.
“This process of detaining Afghans, which began without any formal announcement, has not been officially communicated to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad through any formal correspondence,” it said.
“Ultimately, officials from Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs confirmed that there is a definitive and final plan to deport all Afghan refugees not only from Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also from the entire country in the near future,” the embassy said.
There was no immediate comment from the Pakistani government on the Afghan statement.
The latest development comes more than two weeks after Pakistan’s government threatened to deport Afghan nationals living in the country illegally.
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had approved a deadline of March 31 to deport those awaiting relocation to third countries unless their cases are swiftly processed by the governments who have agreed to take them after the Afghan Taliban seized power in 2021.
The Afghan embassy criticized “the short timeframe” given and “the unilateral nature of Pakistan’s decision.”
Besides hundreds of thousands of those living illegally in Pakistan, there are around 1.45 million Afghan nationals registered with UNHCR as refugees. Pakistani authorities say those who were registered earlier had their stay extended until June 2025, and will not be arrested or deported at least until the extension expires.
Earlier this month, Shafqat Ali Khan, the spokesman at Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, had said: “This resettlement problem can’t be indefinite. So, for us, the Afghans who are here, awaiting resettlement also has to be a transitory phase. This is not a permanent thing.”
He said Pakistan has been collaborating with Western countries to expedite the resettlement program and “will continue to do that.”
In the past three years, tens of thousands of Afghans have fled to Pakistan. Many of them were approved for resettlement in the US through a program that helps people at risk because of their work with the American government, media, aid agencies and rights groups. However, after US President Donald Trump paused US refugee programs last month, around 20,000 Afghans are now in limbo in Pakistan.
These Afghans have been facing harassment and even arrest since October 2023, when Pakistan began cracking down on foreigners living in the country illegally.
Although the government said the campaign was not aimed at Afghans, they make up the majority of foreigners in Pakistan. Since then, more than 800,000 Afghan nationals have been deported or forced to leave the country under a so-called voluntary repatriation plan.
The International Organization for Migration has also reported an increase in deportation of Afghans in January.
IOM this week in a report said, “Afghan nationals are being deported to Afghanistan from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.” It said there is an increase of 13 percent in those Afghans returning home from Jan. 16 to 31 compared to the first two weeks in January. It said 824,568 Afghans have returned home since 2023.
Ahmad Shah, a member of an Afghan advocacy group, urged Pakistan on Wednesday to allow Afghans waiting for relocation to continue living in Islamabad at least until the Trump administration makes a final decision about their fate.
He said it would be hard for them to visit Western embassies in the Pakistani capital if they are moved to other areas.
Pakistan wants to expel all Afghan refugees from the country, says Afghan embassy
https://arab.news/n96v2
Pakistan wants to expel all Afghan refugees from the country, says Afghan embassy
- The embassy says Afghan nationals in Rawalpindi and Islamabad are facing arrests and police searches
- Many are waiting to be resettled in a third country, with Pakistan warning they can’t stay permanently
Pakistan’s defense chief accuses ‘Indian-sponsored proxies’ of fueling violence in Balochistan
- Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir speaks to participants of 18th National Workshop on Balochistan
- Warns violation of Pakistan’s territorial integrity will be met with a “firm and decisive response”
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Chief of Defense Forces (CFD) Field Marshal Syed Asim Munir on Wednesday blamed militant groups allegedly sponsored by India for fueling violence and disrupting development in the province, warning the military will foil their designs.
Munir was speaking to participants of the 18th National Workshop on Balochistan (NWB) at the General Headquarters of the military in Rawalpindi. The NWB features discussions on Pakistan’s policies on security, development and other challenges related to Balochistan by officials, leaders and citizens.
Pakistan accuses India of sponsoring militant groups in its southwestern Balochistan province, who demand independence from Islamabad. India rejects the allegations. These ethnic Baloch militant groups accuse Pakistan’s government and military of denying locals a share in the province’s mineral wealth, charges that both deny.
“Highlighting the security challenges, the COAS & CDF remarked that Indian-sponsored proxies continue to propagate violence and disrupt development in Balochistan,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), the military’s media wing, said in a statement.
“He reaffirmed that such inimical designs will be thwarted through stern actions by security forces to rid the province of terrorism and unrest.”
The Pakistani army chief lauded the federal and provincial governments’ initiatives for Balochistan’s development, underscoring a people-centric approach to unlock the province’s “vast economic potential.”
Munir appreciated the civil society for its constructive role in debunking propaganda, the military’s media wing said.
“He stressed the importance of rejecting vested political agendas to ensure that Balochistan’s future is shaped by long-term prosperity for all its residents,” the ISPR said.
The CDF reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to regional peace but stressed that any violation of the country’s territorial integrity will be met with a decisive response.
Pakistan suffered a surge in militant attacks in its northwestern and Balochistan provinces this year. As per the Pakistan Institute for Conflict and Security Studies (PICSS) think tank, combat-related deaths in 2025 rose by 73 percent to 3,387, compared with 1,950 in 2024.
These deaths included 2,115 militants, 664 security forces personnel, 580 civilians and 28 members of pro-government peace committees (combatants), the think tank said in a press release.
“PICSS noted that most violence remained concentrated in Pashtun-majority districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, including the tribal districts (erstwhile FATA), and in Balochistan,” the think tank said in its report on Sunday.
Islamabad also accuses Afghanistan of sheltering militants who launch attacks on Pakistan soil. Kabul rejects these allegations and says it cannot be held responsible for Pakistan’s security lapses.
