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Pakistan Restarts Deportation of 1.4 Million Afghan Refugees

A Special Regulatory Order voiding Proof of Registration cards empowers authorities to detain Afghan refugees under the 1946 Foreigners Act

Overview

  • The government refused to extend the June 30 deadline, triggering forced deportations of about 1.4 million Afghans holding expired PoR cards.
  • Police across Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are conducting house-to-house checks and detaining Afghan Citizen Card holders on grounds of illegal stay.
  • Afghan returnees at Torkham report extortion, document confiscation, and humiliating treatment by Pakistani officials.
  • UNHCR has warned that the deportations risk breaching non-refoulement obligations and endangering refugees’ lives.
  • The mass expulsions threaten to strain Afghanistan’s fragile economy and stoke regional instability as returnees face dire humanitarian conditions.