Pakistan forces 3 million Afghans to leave amid rising tensions

Pakistan is facing a significant humanitarian and political crisis as it has announced plans to expel approximately 3 million Afghans from its territory this year. This decision follows a specific deadline that required Afghan Citizen cardholders to voluntarily leave the capital Islamabad and surrounding areas by March 31, 2025, which has now passed. The expulsion effort has drawn condemnation from various rights groups, the Taliban government, and the United Nations. According to government documents obtained by The Associated Press, the deportation operations were scheduled to start on April 1, but were delayed until April 10 to accommodate the Eid al-Fitr holidays, which mark the end of Ramadan. Over the last 18 months, approximately 845,000 Afghans have already exited Pakistan, as reported by the International Organization for Migration, while an estimated 1 million Afghans currently reside illegally in the country without proper documentation. The Pakistani authorities have stated that they will ensure that Afghans who are deported will not be permitted to return. Those with Proof of Registration are allowed to remain in Pakistan until June 30, 2025. However, there is growing concern regarding families in which one parent is a Pakistani citizen and the other is Afghan, as well as the status of children born in Pakistan to Afghan parents. Omaid Khan, a 30-year-old Afghan cardholder, is forced to leave while his wife, holding a different registration status, can remain until June 30. Young Afghans like 21-year-old Nazir Ahmed, who has lived in Pakistan his entire life, express desperate uncertainty about their futures, pleading for more time to make arrangements for their return to Afghanistan. The Taliban has also expressed its discontent with Pakistan's unilaterally imposed expulsion policy. Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesperson for Afghanistan's Ministry of Refugees, articulated that such actions are counterproductive, raising animosity against Pakistan. The struggle of managing a return of millions of Afghans presents a significant challenge for Afghanistan, urging for a dignified return process rather than arbitrary deportations. Haqqani has emphasized the importance of collaboration with Pakistan and international bodies to ensure refugees come back through a mutual understanding. Two transit stations are being established in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province to facilitate these deportations, with one located in Nasir Bagh, a suburb of Peshawar. The historical context of these events has deeper implications, as tens of thousands have sought refuge in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021. Many of those slated for deportation are individuals who aided U.S. efforts during the Afghan conflict, with some having received resettlement guarantees to third-party countries such as the U.S. through a prior program aimed at assisting those at risk due to their affiliations with American entities. This scenario not only underlines the ongoing displacement crisis but also brings to light the tensions between Afghanistan and its neighbor in handling refugee situations, raising fundamental questions about the rights and welfare of those facing displacement.