Over 650,000 ‘illegal’ Afghans expelled from Pakistan since deportation drive began last year

An Afghan refugee girl peeps out during a search operation to identify alleged illegal immigrants, on the outskirts of Karachi on November 17, 2023. (AFP)

• 15,727 Afghan nationals returned to Afghanistan in last two weeks, Radio Pakistan says
• Islamabad accuses Afghans of being behind spate of recent militant attacks in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Over 650,000 Afghans living in Pakistan have been repatriated to their home country since the government launched a deportation drive last year, state broadcaster Radio Pakistan said on Monday, with at least 15,727 expelled in the last two weeks.
Until November before it began the deportation drive, Pakistan was home to over 4 million Afghan migrants and refugees, about 1.7 million of whom were undocumented. Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
The expulsion drive was launched after a spike in suicide bombings since last year which the Pakistan government — without providing evidence — says mostly involves Afghans. Islamabad has also blamed them for smuggling and other militant violence and crime. At the time, cash-strapped Pakistan, navigating record inflation and a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program, also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.
Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but all those living illegally in Pakistan. 
“According to the latest statistics, 15,727 Afghans returned to their country over the last two weeks,” Radio Pakistan said on Monday. ” With this, the figure of Afghan returnees has reached 653,154.”
Last week, the South Asian state decided to extend by a year the deadline of UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards given to almost 1.5 million Afghans after the UN refugee commissioner asked for a pause in the country’s plan to repatriate refugees.
In October 2023, Pakistan announced phase one of the ‘Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan’ with a 30-day deadline for “undocumented” aliens to leave the country or be subject to deportation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk.
In phase two of the ‘repatriation plan,’ around 600,00 Afghans who hold Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three is expected to target those with UNHCR-issued PoR cards.
The deportation drive has led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s crackdown on undocumented migrants has also drawn sweeping criticism from the United Nations, aid agencies and human rights groups.