ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s foreign office said on Monday the country had a “sovereign right” to secure and regulate its borders, as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) identified around 110,000 Afghans who faced the risk of persecution at home if deported. 

Facing economic and security crises, Pakistan launched a repatriation drive targeting “illegal” foreigners in November 2023, with approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees, both undocumented and those with Afghan Citizen Card holders, deported since. 

Pakistan has vowed to continue with the deportations until all “illegal” foreigners have been expelled. As of October 2023, there were over 4 million Afghans, registered and illegals, residing in Pakistan.

According to the latest UNHCR Resettlement Factsheet, some 110,000 refugees and asylum-seekers have high-risk profiles with increased international protection needs and vulnerabilities that could qualify them for resettlement in a third country. The agency has said all returns should be voluntary, dignified, and sustainable.

Speaking to Arab News on Monday, foreign office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said the illegal foreign repatriation plan (IFRP) was consistent with both Pakistan’s obligations under international law and its domestic legal framework. 

“The right to secure and regulate our borders is a sovereign right and an internationally recognized practice, which is by no means unique to Pakistan,” he said, adding that IFRP was neither an “indiscriminate nor an arbitrary measure,” and that Afghans would always be welcome to visit Pakistan through a proper visa regime, whether for business, tourism, or education.

Khan said Pakistan had urged all concerned nations to expedite the repatriation process for Afghans awaiting resettlement in third countries.

“On Afghan nationals awaiting evacuation to a third country, we are in touch with those countries and urged them to expedite the process of evacuation,” the FO spokesman said. 

“We are engaged with relevant UN bodies for the protection of people in vulnerable situations, and our legal safeguards and remedies remain functional and effective to address any complaints.”

UNHCR Pakistan spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi said approximately 600,000 Afghans had entered Pakistan following the Taliban’s takeover of Kabul and the withdrawal of US and allied forces in August 2021, with about 490,000 seeking asylum through UNHCR due to the absence of a national refugee law.

“We conducted a verification exercise a year ago and ... around 110,000 have high-risk profiles and qualify for resettlement in a third country,” Afridi told Arab News.

He said these were people who could not return to Afghanistan due to “vulnerabilities and safety concerns.”

“There are journalists, human rights activists, religious minorities, ethnic minorities, musicians, singers, or some people who have worked in previous governments, or they are female only families,” the UNHCR official added.

“We spoke with the Pakistani government, urging them not to send these people back to Afghanistan as their lives are at risk,” Afridi said, adding that the UN agency had also requested that the Pakistan government establish a mechanism to allow these individuals to live in the country temporarily.

According to the foreign office, over 44,000 Afghans approved for relocation to Western countries were still in Pakistan, awaiting resettlement.

The resettlement program has been active since the 1980s, with over 20,000 vulnerable refugees sent to third countries since.