Islamabad: Islamabad has refused to extend the deportation deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders currently residing in Pakistan, maintaining that all undocumented foreigners need to leave the country by March 31. Pakistan has also brushed aside concerns and reservations raised by the United Nations, several human rights groups and relevant agencies regarding the overall process of repatriation.
Confirming that there is no change in the deadline for undocumented foreigners and the ACC holders to leave Pakistan voluntarily, Pakistan Foreign Office spokesperson Shafqat Ali Khan said that Islamabad had fulfilled more than its share by accommodating Afghan refugees voluntarily.
“Authorities have informed us that there is no change in the deadline,” said Khan.
This is the second phase of the repatriation process of undocumented and illegal foreign nationals from Pakistan, majority of them being Afghan nationals. The Pakistan government had set March 31 as the deadline for the ACC holders and illegal and undocumented foreigners to leave the country voluntarily.
Criticising the decision, the UN has called on Pakistan to refrain from repatriating hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan nationals.
However, Islamabad dismissed the concerns and reminded that it has voluntarily fulfilled international obligation towards millions of Afghan refugees.
“We are not bound by the UNHCR. First of all, Pakistan is not a member of the Refugee Convention. So anything we have done for the Afghan refugees was done voluntarily for the past 50 years. So, with regards to international obligations, we have fulfilled more than our share by offering this kind of hospitality to Afghans and we continue to welcome them. But they should have Pakistani visas on their passport, and then they will be more than welcome,” said Khan.
The authorities have made it clear that they will start a major crackdown against ACC holders throughout the country, initiating their mass deportation through the Pak-Afghan Torkham border.
Pakistan has also accused Afghanistan and the Afghan Taliban for supporting terror groups like the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and others to spread unrest in Pakistan. In the past, Pakistan has suspected that terrorists and militants hide themselves among the refugees and carry out terror attacks in the country.
Pakistan’s unilateral decision to repatriate over 1.7 million Afghan nationals from the country has not been received well by the Afghan Taliban regime, who have called on Islamabad for a gradual repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
“Refugees should be respected and their return should be gradual and dignified. We have no security problems throughout the country, but there are some problems that make it difficult to prepare for the arrival of all refugees at once. It is hoped that this work will be implemented gradually,” said Afghanistan’s Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
There are about three million Afghan citizens residing in Pakistan. Islamabad’s decision to repatriate illegal foreign nationals through ‘Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Programme’ came into effect in November 2023.
Since then, Pakistan has applied the process from the initial deadline for volunteer repatriation to police crackdown against illegal and undocumented foreigners on its soil. However, during the second phase, Pakistan has also added the ACC holders to its list.
Experts say that repatriation of millions of Afghans living in Pakistan for decades, the majority of whom do not want to return to their home country due to the threat to their lives, is only going to further increase the already-increasing rift between the two countries.
