Pakistan is starting to arrest and mass deport thousands of Afghan refugees back to the Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Crowds continue to gather at Pakistan-Afghanistan border crossings following the Pakistani government’s decision to send back irregular Afghan migrants, at Torkham border crossing in Nangarhar, Afghanistan. (Photo by Hussain Ali/Anadolu via Getty Images)
In October 2023, the Pakistani government told undocumented foreigners to leave the country by Nov. 1 or face arrest and deportation.
Afghan refugee families arrive on foot to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border. (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)
There are about four million Afghan migrants and refugees in Pakistan, and about 1.7 million of them are undocumented.
Afghan refugees wait in a queue to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham on October 27, 2023. (Photo by ABDUL MAJEED/AFP via Getty Images)
Pakistan’s government said the move was due to security reasons and not aimed at Afghans, even though Afghans make up the majority of migrants and refugees in the country.
Afghan refugees provide biometric verification at a camp in Quetta, before their deportation to Afghanistan. (Photo by BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
“Our policy is only about … individuals who are here illegally, no matter what their nationality is,” a government spokesperson said.
Afghan refugees wait in a queue to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Torkham. (Photo by ABDUL MAJEED/AFP via Getty Images)
A general view shows makeshift camps and trucks of Afghan refugees who arrived from Pakistan at the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
“The government says to go back, even though we have these cards. This level of problem has never happened in the past,” the man told BBC.
Afghan refugees walk near tents at a temporarily camp as they wait to cross the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman. (Photo by BANARAS KHAN/AFP via Getty Images)
Since the announcement, at least 250,000 Afghans have already left Pakistan.
Afghan refugees in Pakistan walk towards the Pakistan-Afghanistan Torkham border. (Photo by ABDUL MAJEED/AFP via Getty Images)
Many of them told Reuters that they felt compelled to leave even if they had documentation because they were scared they would be separated from undocumented family members
On Nov. 1, security forces started launching raids to arrest and deport undocumented foreigners.
An Afghan security personnel gestures as refugees arriving from Pakistan walk at the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
The crackdown has been widely criticized by human right groups, who say that minorities such as girls, women and journalists, face high risks if they return back to the Taliban-ruled Afghanistan.
Afghan refugees arrive with their belongings on trucks from Pakistan at the Afghanistan-Pakistan Torkham border in Nangarhar province. (Photo by WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images)
Since taking power of Afghanistan’s government, the Taliban has increasingly restricted women’s rights, including banning girls from going to high school and university.
Afghan refugees with their belongings arrive on trucks from Pakistan, at a registration centre near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. (Photo by SANAULLAH SEIAM/AFP via Getty Images)
The influx of refugees is also putting pressure on Afghanistan, which is already struggling due to international sanctions and foreign aid cuts against the Taliban.
Afghan refugees gather around National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) vans for biometric verifications as they prepare to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre in Landi Kotal. (Photo by FAROOQ NAEEM/AFP via Getty Images)
Afghan refugees rest upon her arrival from Pakistan, at a registration centre near the Afghanistan-Pakistan border in the Spin Boldak district of Kandahar province. (Photo by SANAULLAH SEIAM/AFP via Getty Images)
