Pak resumes forced expulsions of 1.4m Afghans despite UN concerns

Authorities in Pakistan have resumed the forced deportations of Afghan refugees after the federal government declined to extend a key deadline for their stay, officials said on Monday.

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The decision affects approximately 1.4 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, whose legal status expired at the end of June. Many had hoped for a one-year extension to settle personal affairs, such as selling property or concluding business, before returning to Afghanistan.

In addition to PoR card holders, around 800,000 Afghans hold Afghan Citizen Cards. Police say they also are living in the country illegally and being detained prior to deportations in the eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province.

Monday's decision drew criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the UN refugee agency.

At least 1.2 million Afghans have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, according to a June UNHCR report. Repatriations on such a massive scale have the potential to destabilise the fragile situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government came into power in 2021.