UN sounds alarm over Pakistan's new Afghan deportation plans

ISLAMABAD — 

The United Nations agencies focused connected refugees and migration jointly voiced their concerns Wednesday implicit Pakistan's plans to statesman a caller circular of wide deportations of Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers.

The absorption came a week aft Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif approved a multistage program targeting astir 3 cardinal Afghan citizens residing successful Pakistan. They see legally declared refugees, documented arsenic good arsenic undocumented migrants, and those who are awaiting promised relocation to the United States and different Western countries.

The authoritative program seen by VOA mandates the contiguous relocation of each Afghans from the nationalist capital, Islamabad, and the adjacent metropolis of Rawalpindi to designated camps earlier their repatriation to Afghanistan. The papers emphasized without mentioning a timeline that nary nationalist announcement should beryllium made regarding the deportations.

In a associated connection Wednesday, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, UNHCR, and the International Organization for Migration, IOM, said they “are seeking clarity implicit the modality and timeframe of this relocation.”

Both agencies urged Pakistan to see quality rights standards erstwhile implementing relocation measures. This includes ensuring owed process for ineligible refugees and economical migrants who person been granted Afghan Citizen Cards oregon ACC, by Pakistan successful collaboration with IOM, the connection explained. Official estimates enactment the ACC colonisation astatine much than 800,000.

"Forced instrumentality to Afghanistan could spot immoderate radical astatine accrued risk. We impulse Pakistan to proceed to supply information to Afghans astatine risk, irrespective of their documentation status,” said Philippa Candler, the UNHCR state representative.

Mio Sato, the IOM main of ngo successful Islamabad, said her enactment is committed to moving with the Pakistani authorities and UNHCR to make a mechanics to register, negociate and surface Afghan nationals successful Pakistan.

“This volition unfastened the doorway to tailored solutions, including planetary extortion to those successful request and pathways for Afghan nationals with long-standing socioeconomic and household ties successful the country,” she said.

In the archetypal phase, the deportation program requires authorities to relocate radical possessing an ACC, on with undocumented Afghan migrants, from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and nonstop them backmost to Afghanistan.

Pakistan has allowed much than 1.4 cardinal ineligible Afghan refugees to stay successful the state until June 30, 2025. The caller program requires their relocation from the 2 cities successful the 2nd signifier without stating whether they volition besides beryllium deported to Afghanistan.

Sharif has besides ordered authorities to deport astir 40,000 Afghans from Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31 successful the 3rd signifier of the deportation program and subsequently put for their repatriation if their relocation and resettlement cases to 3rd countries are not processed expeditiously.

These individuals fled Afghanistan aft the Taliban regained power of the state successful 2021, chiefly seeking structure from imaginable retribution owed to their affiliations with the U.S. and NATO forces.

Last month, President Donald Trump halted the U.S. Refugee Admission Program to measure whether reinstating it serves the interests of Washington, leaving astatine slightest 15,000 Afghan allies successful Pakistan approved oregon being assessed for relocation to the U.S. successful a authorities of uncertainty.

Since 2023, Pakistani authorities person forcibly repatriated much than 800,000 undocumented Afghans from its territory. The deportations resulted from a authorities crackdown connected foreigners surviving successful the state without ineligible support oregon whose visas had expired. Islamabad has attributed a caller emergence successful crimes and militancy successful Pakistan to Afghan nationals.

UNHCR and IOM said that they admit the challenges Islamabad faces, particularly successful security, and that refugees, similar all, indispensable abide by Pakistan’s laws. “The overwhelming bulk of Afghan nationals successful Pakistan are law-abiding individuals whose concern needs to beryllium seen done a humanitarian lens,” they said successful their associated statement.

The 2 U.N. agencies expressed their peculiar interest for Afghan nationals who whitethorn look harm upon their return, including taste and spiritual minorities, women and girls, journalists, quality rights activists and members of creator professions specified arsenic musicians.

The Islamist Taliban leaders person placed sweeping restrictions connected women’s entree to education, employment and nationalist beingness and person banned euphony successful Afghanistan.