2023-11-01 17:21:17
Afghan refugees in a detention center near the Pakistan-Afghan border in Chaman, November 1, 2023. ABDUL BASIT / AFP
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans in an irregular situation in Pakistan risk being arrested and deported when the government’s ultimatum for them to leave on their own expires on Wednesday, November 1, triggering an exodus massive. Pakistan estimates the number of undocumented Afghans on its territory at 1.7 million. In total, 29,000 migrants crossed the border on Tuesday through the various crossing points.
“Since November 1, the process of arresting and then deporting illegal aliens has begun. However, voluntary return (…) will also continue to be encouraged”announced the Pakistani Interior Ministry in a press release.
More than 140,000 people have left Pakistan since the plan was announced in early October, he said. Islamabad says it targets all illegal immigrants, and not just Afghans, but the vast majority are, in fact, Afghans.
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Afghan refugees prepare to leave for Afghanistan, in a detention center in Landi Kotal, Pakistan, November 1, 2023. FAROOQ NAEEM / AFP
Millions of Afghans have flocked to Pakistan during decades of war, including at least 600,000 since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021, making it one of the countries hosting the most refugees in the world. Many are afraid of returning to Afghanistan, where the Taliban government has imposed its rigorous interpretation of Islam, for example prohibiting girls from accessing education after primary school.
The Pakistani government said it was seeking to preserve with this expulsion measure “well-being and security” of the country, where hostility towards Afghans is on the rise against a backdrop of economic crisis and an increase in attacks at the border. But for some of these migrants, who have lived in Pakistan for decades or were born there, and know nothing about Afghanistan, the future in their new country is very uncertain.
Many people who have fled Afghanistan in the past two years and are seeking asylum in third countries but whose Pakistani visas have expired are at risk of deportation, Human Rights Watch warned. The UN estimated that they could be in danger upon their return. Taliban authorities, who have been pressing Islamabad to give people more time to leave, have been overwhelmed by this sudden influx of refugees, who are crossing the border with trucks filled to the brim with personal belongings, in total chaos.
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