Pakistan has begun to deport documented to Afghan refugees before their deadline for them to leave, according to the United Nations, to a measure that could see more than 1 million Afghans expelled from the country.
The United Nations High Commissioner said that he had received reports of arrests and expulsions from Afghan legally registered throughout the country before the deadline of September 1 of Pakistan to leave.
UNHCR said that sending Afghans in this way was a violation of Pakistan’s international obligations. “UNHCR is asking the government to stop forced return and adopt a human approach to guarantee the voluntary, gradual and worthy return of Afghans,” he said in a statement.
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The voluntary return of documented refugees will begin immediately, said the order of the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan seen by Reuters. He said that the formal deportation process will begin after the deadline. But Qaisar Khan Afridi, a BCL spokesman, told Reuters on Wednesday that hundreds of legally registered Afghan refugees had already been arrested and deported to Afghanistan from August 1 to 4.
The Interior Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
More than 1.3 million Afghas have documentation known as registration cards, while 750,000 more have another form of registration known as Afghan citizen card.
Many Afghan have established themselves in Pakistan since the 1980s, to escape the war cycles in Afghanistan. “Such a massive and hurried return could endanger the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while risking instability not only in Afghanistan but in the entire region,” said UNHRC.
The Pakistani authorities have said that Islamabad wants all Afghan citizens to leave, except for those who have valid visas. The Pakistan repatriation campaign is part of a campaign called the repatriation plan of illegal foreigners launched at the end of 2023.
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In the past, Pakistan blamed the attacks and crimes militants to Afghan citizens, who form the largest migrant group in the country. Afghanistan has rejected accusations and has called repatriations as forced deportation.
In addition to the repatriation of Pakistan, Afghanistan also faces a new wave of mass deportations in Iran. Help groups care that the influx runs the risk of further destabilizing the country.
