Pakistan plans to expel three million Afghans from the country this year, after a deadline for them to voluntarily leave the capital Islamabad and surrounding areas expired today.
Pakistan launched a campaign in October 2023 to expel foreigners living in the country illegally, mostly Afghans. This has drawn sharp reactions from human rights groups, the Taliban government, and the UN.
The arrests and deportations were supposed to begin on April 1, but were postponed to April 10 due to the Eid al-Fitr holiday, according to government documents seen by The Associated Press.
About 845.000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the past 18 months, according to the International Organization for Migration.
Pakistan claims that three million Afghans remain. Of these, about a million are in the country illegally because they have no papers. The rest have cards that prove they are registered. Pakistan is now asking them to leave Islamabad and the city of Rawalpindi by March 31 and voluntarily return to Afghanistan or face deportation.
The state claims it will ensure that Afghans do not return once they are deported.
Tens of thousands of Afghans fled after the Taliban took power in 2021.
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