Pakistan to expel all Afghans, including card holders

ISLAMABAD: In a major crackdown against illegal foreigners in Pakistan, it has been decided to expel all Afghan nationals including those holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

A decision to this effect was taken in a meeting held at the Interior Ministry, which was chaired by Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi. The meeting was attended by Chief Secretaries of all the four provinces, IGs and other officers of other law enforcing agencies.

The Interior Ministry has clarified that even registered Afghans with valid PoR cards must leave Pakistan. However, they can return after obtaining visas through the proper legal channels. To facilitate their return 49 repatriation points have been established.

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The process to deport Afghan nationals will start after April following all legal procedures.

The government has decided that police will first issue warnings to Afghan card holders before enforcing repatriation. Those who comply voluntarily will be allowed to take their belongings with them. However, after April, any Afghan national—even with a valid PoR card—who remains in Pakistan will face deportation through legal proceedings.

The meeting also reviewed arrangements made in an earlier session regarding card-holding foreign nationals, according to sources.

Millions of Afghans have travelled to Pakistan over the past four decades, fleeing successive conflicts including the Soviet invasion, a civil war and the post-9/11 US-led occupation.

Some 600,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Taliban government took over again in August 2021 and implemented their austere version of Islamic law.

According to UNHCR, Pakistan currently hosts some 1.5 million Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers, alongside more than 1.5 million Afghans of different legal statuses.

A campaign to deport undocumented Afghans was launched as political ties between the neighbouring governments frayed and Pakistan’s economic and security woes worsened.