UNHCR | Pakistan

Pakistan has started to deport documented Afghan refugees ahead of its deadline for them to leave, according to the United Nations, in a move that could see more than 1 million Afghans expelled from the country. The country’s decision follows the interior ministry’s announcement on July 31 that Proof of Registration (PoR) cardholders — the last category of Afghans legally residing in Pakistan without visas — became unlawful residents after their cards expired on June 30. However, the federal government has informed the provinces that the formal repatriation and deportation of over 1.3 million Afghan refugees holding PoR cards will begin on September 1. The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said that it had received reports of arrests and expulsions of legally registered Afghans across the country before Pakistan’s September 1 deadline for them to leave. The UNHCR said that sending the Afghans back in this way was a breach of Pakistan’s international obligations. “UNHCR is calling on the go...

ISLAMABAD: The UN’s agency for refugees has expressed concern over the drastic cut in funding at a time when it is providing help to Afghans returning to their country from Pakistan. Over three million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries, around one-third from Pakistan, since September 2023, according to the International Organisation for Migration. These Afghans were either deported or left out of fear of arrest after the Pakistan government announced a plan to repatriate all illegal foreigners. In 2025 alone, 780,000 Afghans are estimated to have returned, including 351,600 who were deported, according to the information released by UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday. UN body says support to returning refugees drastically reduced They return to a homeland that is “clearly unprepared to receive them”, with a UNDP report saying that three-quarters of the population in Afghanistan was barely surviving, with half the population in need of humanitarian assistance. Many of the retu...