Pakistan Announces Beginning of Second Phase of Afghan Migrant Deportations
Pakistan's Interior Minister announced that the country would soon begin the second phase of deporting undocumented Afghan migrants.
Pakistan's Interior Minister announced that the country would soon begin the second phase of deporting undocumented Afghan migrants.
On Wednesday, Mohsin Naqvi, during a meeting with Indrika Ratwatte, the Deputy Special Representative of the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), said that no one is allowed to remain in Pakistan without proper residency documentation.
Pakistan’s Dawn newspaper reported on Thursday, that during the meeting with the UN representative, the Interior Minister emphasised on the role of the United Nations and the international community in the return of Afghan refugees.
Meanwhile, Dawn, citing a source, reported that in the second phase of the deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan, those holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would also be expelled.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), around 880,000 Afghan refugees with ACCs are currently living in Pakistan.
The first phase of Afghan migrant deportations began last October, during which approximately 600,000 Afghan refugees were expelled from Pakistan.
Ratwatte, UNAMA’s Deputy Special Representative, mentioned in the meeting that the United Nations is working closely with Taliban officials on the return of Afghan refugees.
According to UN statistics, there are currently 1.3 million other Afghan migrants living in Pakistan with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, whose validity was recently extended by the Pakistani government for another year.
Additionally, last month, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry announced that about 44,000 Afghans in Pakistan remain in limbo, despite their immigration cases being accepted by countries like the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Canada, and Germany.
In his discussions with the UN delegation, the Pakistani Interior Minister also stated that the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) is organising its attacks against Pakistan from Afghan soil. Naqvi added that these attacks "must be stopped”.
