Pakistan begins deporting registered Afghan refugees ahead of September deadline

Pakistan has begun expelling documented Afghan refugees weeks before its 1 September deadline, the UN refugee agency says, warning that the early removals breach international law and could uproot more than one million people.

The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Wednesday it had received “credible reports” of arrests and deportations of legally registered Afghans since 1 August and urged Islamabad to “stop the forcible return and adopt a humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual and dignified repatriation.”

UNHCR spokesman Qaisar Khan Afridi told Reuters that “hundreds” of refugees holding valid papers were detained and sent back to Afghanistan between 1 and 4 August, despite a government order stating that formal expulsions would begin only after next month’s deadline.

About 1.3 million Afghans hold Proof of Registration cards and a further 750,000 possess Afghan Citizen Cards, according to Pakistani officials. Many families have lived in Pakistan since the Soviet–Afghan war of the 1980s.

An interior-ministry directive seen by Reuters says “voluntary return” of documented refugees should start immediately, with mass deportations to follow if they remain after 1 September. The ministry did not respond to requests for comment on UNHCR’s allegations.

The removals are part of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023. Islamabad blames Afghan nationals for militant attacks and crime; Kabul rejects the charge and brands the policy forced deportation. Aid agencies warn that sudden, large-scale returns could deepen instability in Afghanistan, which also faces new mass expulsions from neighbouring Iran.

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