Afghanistan: Pakistan wants to deport all illegal Afghan immigrants

^{Photo: Anadolu}
The Pakistani government intends to deport all illegal Afghan immigrants in the country. This was reported by the Afghan embassy in Islamabad.

According to the report, Afghan citizens have recently been detained and searched in the Pakistani capitals of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and have been ordered to leave these two cities.

"The process of detaining Afghan citizens is being carried out without any official notifications. The Afghan embassy in Islamabad has not received any official notification through correspondence," the report said.

It is noted that representatives of the Afghan embassy have held several meetings with Pakistani officials to determine whether these actions are “isolated incidents” or “part of an official policy that needs to be made public.” The diplomatic mission, as well as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), have stated that they are not aware of this process.

“Finally, representatives of the Pakistani Foreign Ministry confirmed that there is a clear and final plan to deport all Afghan refugees not only from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, but also from the entire country in the near future,” the report says.

At the same time, Pakistani officials have stated that these initiatives are an official decision of the government. According to officials, Afghans with valid visas will be allowed to reside in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

It is reported that the embassy is working on the issue of the dignified return of Afghan citizens to the country, and has also informed its government about the situation.

Repatriation began in October 2023

According to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, there are about 1.34 million Afghan refugees and 468,800 illegal Afghan migrants in Pakistan. More than 820,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their homeland since 2023.

Since the change of power in Afghanistan in August 2021, disagreements have arisen between Kabul and Islamabad, mainly related to security.

In particular, the Islamabad administration accuses Kabul of inaction against the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) militants, while the Afghan administration denies these accusations of Islamabad, explaining this by the fact that Kabul has nothing to do with security problems in Pakistan.

It was reported that Pakistan's decision to deport illegal immigrants was made under the influence of political pressure on the Afghan administration and negative consequences for the country's economy. Follow “Zamin” news on “Telegram”