Kabul voices concern over 'mass expulsion' of Afghans from Pakistan

By Islamuddin Sajid

ISLAMABAD (AA) - Afghanistan on Wednesday expressed concerns over the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan's capital Islamabad and garrison city Rawalpindi.

In a statement, the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad said Afghan nationals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have recently been subjected to arrests, searches, and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan.

"This process of detaining Afghans, which began without any formal announcement, has not been officially communicated to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad through any formal correspondence," said the embassy on X.

The embassy added they took up the issue with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), but they were also unaware of the ongoing situation.

"The Embassy has held multiple meetings with relevant Pakistani authorities and officials to seek clarification on the matter—whether these actions are isolated incidents that need to be stopped or part of an official policy that should be publicly disclosed," it said.

Pakistani authorities last year announced that illegal Afghan refugees will not be allowed to live in Islamabad and Rawalpindi anymore.

The Islamabad administration made this announcement after claiming that the Afghan refugees took part in the opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) protest rally held in November in Islamabad last year.

Earlier this month, Pakistan Foreign Ministry spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan rejected the reports of targeting Afghan refugees and kicking them out of the capital city and said only illegal people will be repatriated from Islamabad.

However, the Afghan Embassy said that it shared its concerns with the Pakistani authorities and international organizations and demanded an end to the crackdown against Afghan nationals.

In October 2023, Pakistan had launched the “Illegal Foreigners' Repatriation Plan”, under which Islamabad repatriated 757,008 undocumented Afghans to its western neighbor until late last year.