Pakistani govt begins repatriating process of Afghan refugees

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The government of Pakistan has begun the process of repatriation to non -documentary Afghan refugees, as the deadline for their voluntary return ended on March 31, 2025.

Interior Ministry sources said that after the postponement of Eid -ul -Fitr holidays, authorities have finally launched operations against non -documentary Afghan nationals across the country.

The number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan?

According to data obtained by Geo News, there are currently 2.1 million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Sources in the Ministry of State and Frontier Regions (Zafron) say 1.4 million Afghan refugees are legally registered, while 800,000 Afghan citizens have ‘Afghan Citizens Card’ (ACC), but now their establishment is considered illegal. However, the government claims that the total number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is three million, all of which will be brought back home this year under a plan for the deportation of foreign nationals.

Are Afghans living in Pakistan in four types?

Afghan citizens living in Pakistan for decades come in four types.

In the first type, Afghan citizens who fled to Pakistan due to instability in Afghanistan and were given the official status of refugees. In 2007, Pakistan issued evidence of registration (POR) card to these refugees, which now has about 1.3 million. The government issued these cards only once, and from time to time renewing them, the current justification expires on June 30, 2025.

The second type includes Afghan citizens who were issued an Afghan Citizens Card (ACC). In 2016, about 800,000 people received these cards, and they are now being brought back home as part of the deportation efforts.

The third type is Afghan citizens who fled to Pakistan after the Taliban occupation in 2021. These men were sheltered under the International Protocol. While the Pakistani government initially claimed that 600,000 Afghans had arrived after the US withdrawal, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) says only 200,000 were officially registered.

The fourth category includes non -documentary Afghan citizens who lack the status of both Purpur and ACC and are not registered as a seeking asylum since the arrival of 2021. This category also includes those who have married in Pakistan and obtained fake national identity cards. In the past two years, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) has been canceling such fake identification IDs through its national verification and renewal campaign, now ranging on illegal residents.

Alternative arrangements for Afghan refugees

The government has set up 54 refugee camps in Pakistan to temporarily keep non -documentary Afghan refugees at home. These include: 43 camps in different districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 camps in Punjab and one camp in Balochistan.

These camps provide food, shelter, primary education and health care, but human rights organizations have raised concerns about their situation.

Dignity, Volunteer return important: UN

The government’s actions have caused widespread problems among Afghan refugees, many of which have been based in Pakistan for decades and are now feared to be sudden exile. UN and human rights organizations have expressed concern over forced repatriation, and urged Pakistan to respect international law.

According to Amnesty International: “If returned to Afghanistan, many Afghan refugees in Pakistan face serious threats. Forcibly return will be a violation of human rights.” Similarly, the UNHCR has emphasized that Afghan refugees should be brought back home in a dignity and voluntary manner to ensure long -term stability.

Talking to Geo News, UNHCR spokesman Qaiser Khan Afridi warned that people returning from Afghanistan’s human rights situation were in serious danger. “Many Afghan citizens are running business in Pakistan, and their children are enrolling in local schools,” he said. He also noted that some exile could be eligible for international protection.

Is the Afghan government ready to get refugees?

The Taliban administration has welcomed the return of Afghan refugees. However, experts have warned that Afghanistan’s economic crisis and security concerns are major challenges to restore them.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN data, 850,000 Afghan citizens have been brought back home from September 13, 2023, from Pakistan. 90 % of them were non -documentary immigrants, while 10 % returned voluntarily.

Is this the first major homeland campaign in Pakistan?

Earlier, Pakistan has launched a campaign for Afghan refugees to return home.

1979: After the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, millions of Afghan refugees fled to Pakistan.

1990s: During the first Taliban government, some refugees returned voluntarily, but the majority remained in Pakistan.

2002-2005: After the termination of the Taliban in 2001, the UNHCR launched a voluntary return program, which facilitated the return of about three million Afghan refugees from Pakistan, among the claims that Afghanistan was becoming stable.

2016: Under Pakistan’s National Action Plan, the government announced a massive repatriation program, which resulted in 370,000 Afghan refugees returned to Afghanistan, while 800,000 were issued Afghan Citizens Cards (ACC).

Contrary to the previous efforts, the return drive of 2023-2025 is being described as the largest and largest campaign in Pakistan’s history.