Deportation threat: Tens of thousands of Afghans are fleeing Pakistan

The Pakistani government plans to deport illegal immigrants on a large scale. The approximately two million Afghans in the country will be particularly affected. Tens of thousands have already left – because a deadline is running out.

Before the mandatory deportation of irregular migrants in Pakistan was announced, a large number of Afghans left for their home country. People piled into trucks and buses to reach the border and beat the deadline.

Pakistan has given undocumented migrants and refugees until November 1 to voluntarily leave the country. Otherwise expect to be forced into exile and housed in newly built centers. According to Pakistani sources, the deadline is part of a wider crackdown on foreigners without registration or documentation. However, this move primarily affects the majority of Afghans who have settled in Pakistan.

In a video message, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sarfraz Bukhti said the government would begin the staggered deportations from Thursday. He said only those who were in the country “completely illegally” should leave Pakistan.

Tens of thousands are waiting at the border

Hours before the deadline to leave the country, tens of thousands of people gathered in kilometer-long queues at border crossings with the neighboring country, AFP news agency reported. According to a government official, 18,000 refugees were waiting in cars and the backs of trucks in Torgam, northwest Pakistan. 5,000 people were said to be waiting at the border crossing at Saman in Balochistan province. Since the departure deadline was announced, more than 100,000 Afghans have left the country.

After crossing the border, people must register with Afghan authorities — creating another hurdle. “Our transit center was designed to process 750 people a day, and now we are dealing with 7,000 people,” said Ziad Salih, International Organization for Migration (IOM) regional coordinator at the Torkham border crossing. Samiullah Samoon, head of registration there, spoke of a “state of emergency” and pointed to a lack of water and temporary shelter.

Criticism of the Government of Pakistan

Deportation Campaign, UN Pakistan has drawn criticism from agencies, human rights groups and the Taliban government in Afghanistan. According to the United Nations, more than two million Afghans live in Pakistan without documentation. At least 600,000 of them fled their homes after the Taliban came to power.

Human Rights Watch has accused Pakistan of relying on threats, abuse and arrests to force the return of Afghan asylum seekers who lack legal status. Human Rights Watch called on officials to waive the deadline and work with the UN refugee agency to register undocumented people.

The Pakistani government has attributed the deportation plans to a worsening security situation along the border and a rise in suicide attacks, which it blames on militant fighters from Afghanistan.