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3mo ago

Pakistan Expels Over 85,000 Afghans as April 30 Deadline Nears

With no further extensions planned, Pakistan enforces mass deportations while engaging in talks with Afghanistan on security and border cooperation.

Trucks transporting Afghan nationals, who were expelled from Pakistan, are parked as refugees wait for registration at the Omari refugee camp in Mohmand Dara, Torkham border, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hedyatshah Hedayat/File Photo
Afghan Prime Minister Hassan Akhund (R) and Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar during a bilateral meeting in Kabul. Dar flew to Kabul for a day-long visit on April 19.
Afghan nationals, who were expelled from Pakistan, stand in queue for registration upon their arrival at the Omari refugee camp in Mohmand Dara, Torkham border, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, April 15, 2025. REUTERS/Hedyatshah Hedayat/File Photo
Pakistan plans to evict by the end of April more than 800,000 Afghans who have had their residence permits cancelled -- including some who lived there for decades

Overview

  • Pakistan has repatriated over 85,000 Afghan nationals since April 1, with authorities reaffirming the April 30 deadline as final.
  • The deportations are part of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023, targeting undocumented Afghans and Afghan Citizen Card holders.
  • UN agencies and rights groups have criticized the campaign, warning of the humanitarian risks for vulnerable returnees, particularly women and children.
  • Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar visited Kabul for high-level talks, resulting in an agreement with Afghanistan to prevent the use of their territories for cross-border terror activities.
  • Temporary holding centers have been established in Pakistan to process deportees, who are primarily being sent through the Torkham border crossing into Afghanistan.