The Government has repatriated approximately 1.3 million Afghan refugees in a deportation campaign launched since November 2023, said Parliamentary Secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Malik on Wednesday, Wednesday, the Associated Press of Pakistan reported.
Initially, the Government said that first was focusing on foreigners without legal documentation and other categories, such as the Afghan citizen card (ACC), a document launched in 2017 to grant temporary legal status to Afghan refugees, it would be included below.
In response to a question raised by legislator Anjum Aqeel Khan during a parliamentary session, Malik said about 3 million Afghan refugees resided in Pakistan. “Of these, 813,000 have Afghan citizen cards (ECC), while 1.3 million have registration cards (by),” he said.
He stressed that Afghan citizens who wish to enter Pakistan for medical treatment, education or commercial purposes can do so, provided they obtain a Pakistani visa and carry valid documentation with them.
Earlier this year, the country’s Ministry of Interior asked all “illegal foreigners” and ACC holders to leave the country before March 31, warning that otherwise they would be deported as of April 1. The authorities began to deport thousands of Afghan citizens from all over the country.
In total, Pakistan has received more than 2.8 million Afghan refugees who crossed the border for 40 years of conflict in their homeland.
