ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has ordered the immediate arrest of Afghan nationals residing in the country without valid visas from July 10, according to an Interior Ministry directive issued to provincial governments as Islamabad steps up enforcement of its nationwide deportation campaign.
The order, dated June 28 and seen by Arab News, directs chief secretaries and law enforcement authorities across the country to strictly implement the government’s Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan (IFRP), a deportation drive launched in October 2023 ordering undocumented foreigners, the overwhelming majority of them Afghans, to leave the country or face removal.
Officials have repeatedly argued that militants involved in attacks inside Pakistan have used Afghan territory as a base and that some Afghan nationals have been linked to security incidents, allegations the Taliban-led government in Kabul has consistently denied. Islamabad has also cited the economic burden of hosting millions of Afghan refugees for more than four decades as a reason for tightening immigration enforcement.
According to government figures and international agencies, more than two million Afghans have returned or been deported since the campaign began.
“With effect from 10th July, 2026, any Afghan national found residing in Pakistan without a valid visa shall be arrested immediately,” the interior ministry said in the directive.
It instructed provincial governments to issue directions to deputy commissioners, district administrations, police and other law enforcement agencies to ensure the “uniform and effective implementation” of the order.
The ministry also directed provincial authorities to begin submitting daily reports from July 11 detailing the number of Afghan nationals found without valid visas, the action taken against them and their immigration status.
The directive said the instructions followed decisions taken at a June 1 review meeting on the Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan chaired by the interior secretary, where provincial governments and the Islamabad administration were directed to expedite the repatriation and deportation of Afghan nationals, including visa overstay cases.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, making it one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting countries for decades.
The deportation campaign has drawn criticism from the United Nations and human rights organizations, which have raised concerns about forced returns, while Pakistani authorities maintain the policy applies to foreigners residing illegally in the country and is necessary for national security and immigration enforcement.
