Pakistan intensifies crackdown on Afghan refugees, aims to repatriate 8 lakh cardholders

Pakistan has stepped up its efforts to repatriate legal Afghan refugees, with a focus on those holding Afghan Citizen Cards, reported ARY News.

The government aims to send back around 800,000 cardholders to their home country, with preparations underway to remove Afghan citizens from Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

This comes after the Interior Ministry of Pakistan started implementing the decisions made in a meeting chaired by the prime minister.

Since launching a crackdown on undocumented foreign migrants in September 2023, Pakistan has forcibly repatriated more than 825,000 undocumented Afghan refugees to their home country, according to the United Nations.

The government has recently intensified its crackdown, targeting both documented and undocumented Afghan refugees.

According to sources of ARY News, March 31 has been confirmed as the deadline for the removal of Afghan nationals from the federal capital city and Rawalpindi.

According to documents, the Afghan citizen card holders will be shifted to other cities by March 31 and then to Afghanistan. Moreover, the stay of Afghan nationals intending to move to a third country has been extended up to June 30.

The Afghan nationals, waiting for visas from some other country, could also not stay in Islamabad, the sources stated.

The Interior Ministry will send the agency’s implementation report to the Prime Minister’s Office every 15 days. “If any other country doesn’t issue visa, the Afghan citizens will be deemed as illegally staying in the country,” according to ARY News.