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9h ago

Pakistan Resumes Deportations of 1.4 Million Afghans After PoR Cards Expire

The expiration of Proof of Registration cards has triggered fresh detentions followed by deportations in breach of UN refugee law.

FILE - Afghan refugee children play next to trucks loaded with their family's belongings as they wait to return Afghanistan along a highway in Landi Kotal, Pakistan, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Muhammad Sajjad, File)
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Afghan refugees board a bus to leave for their homeland Afghanistan, at a terminal in Karachi, Pakistan, on April 9.

Overview

  • Pakistan’s interior ministry issued a July 31 order that expired PoR cards on June 30, rendering 1.4 million Proof of Registration holders and 800,000 Afghan Citizen Card holders subject to deportation.
  • Police and district officials have carried out random and house-to-house checks to detain Afghans without valid documentation and transfer them to border crossings including Torkham.
  • Deportees at holding centres report instances of humiliation and extortion with officials demanding bribes in exchange for release and travel documents.
  • UNHCR spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi warned that forced returns violate the principle of non-refoulement and urged Pakistan to allow voluntary, dignified repatriation.
  • IOM data indicates that 93 percent of returnees between July 1 and 15 fled due to fear of arrest and that over 315,000 Afghans have returned so far in 2025, intensifying humanitarian concerns.