Islamabad: Pakistan has decided to close Afghan refugee camps that have been in operation for 40 years, the local media reported Saturday.
As many as five such facilities in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have been ordered to shut down as the Pakistani government continues its crackdown on Afghan refugees.
“The five camps being closed in KP included three camps in Haripur district, one in Chitral, and one in Upper Dir. The Panian camp in Haripur alone had housed more than 100,000 refugees, according to officials,” Pakistan’s leading daily Express Tribune reported.
“The government started sending back undocumented Afghan refugees in October 2023, citing reasons of increasing crime and terrorism. Earlier this week, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif repeated that Afghan refugees were linked to terrorism in Balochistan and KP,” it added.
Earlier this month, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, warned of a crisis within a crisis emerging in Afghanistan as lakhs of Afghans were forced out of Pakistan under adverse circumstances. Afghanistan is currently struggling to recover from a devastating earthquake in many of the same areas where returnees are arriving.
“Since the start of the year, some 2.6 million Afghans have returned from neighbouring countries – many not by choice. They are arriving in a country wracked by poverty and drought, where humanitarian needs are already high. Some have not set foot in Afghanistan for decades; others were born in exile and are arriving for the first time,” read a statement issued by the UNHCR.
“As Pakistan resumes implementation of its ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’, more than 554,000 Afghans have returned since April – including 143,000 in August alone. In recent weeks, the pace has surged further: in the first week of September alone, nearly 100,000 people crossed back from Pakistan, stretching capacities to the limit,” it added.
The United Nations urged Pakistan to uphold its long-standing humanitarian approach to Afghan refugees, including by extending legal stay for those still in need of international protection, such as groups who face heightened risks upon their return.
“UNHCR stands ready to support the Government of Pakistan in developing practical mechanisms to identify individuals with ongoing protection needs, and to expand regulated migration pathways for Afghans,” UNHCR Representative to Afghanistan Arafat Jamal said at a press briefing in Geneva September 12.
