The Federal Government ordered the authorities to take measures against Afghan refugees who have registration cards (by), while considering extending the validity of the document, according to an official notification.
“The federal government is considering the matter regarding the extension in the validity of the registration test (by),” said the notification, instructing all departments and agencies to refrain from “adverse harassment or action” against registered Afghan refugees until a final decision is made.
Pakistan houses more than 2.8 million Afghan refugees who fled decades of conflict in Afghanistan. Of these, around 1.3 million have cards for, while about 813,000 have Afghan citizen cards (ACC), issued in 2017 to grant temporary legal status.
Earlier this year, the Ministry of Interior ordered all “illegal foreigners” and the owners of ACC to leave the country before March 31, warning deportations as of April 1. Since then, the authorities have repatriated approximately 1.3 million Afghans under the ongoing deportation campaign launched in November 2023.
However, the new government directive offers a temporary respite to card holders, amid a growing international concern for the treatment of Afghan refugees.
“Of the almost three million Afghan nationals in Pakistan, only one fraction has valid documentation,” said parliamentary secretary Mukhtar Ahmad Malik to the parliamentary session. He said that the government was reviewing documentation policies as part of a broader reevaluation of refugee management.
Pakistan has organized Afghan refugees for more than four decades, but recent security and economic pressures have caused strict border and immigration controls.
