Pakistan’s push to expel illegal immigrants leaves no room for exceptions

Authorities in Pakistan's capital have intensified their crackdown on undocumented Afghan nationals, deploying a wide array of tactics to trace and detain them.

From mapping entire neighborhoods and launching door-to-door raids, to issuing warnings through mosque loudspeakers and sweeping through local markets, law enforcement is leaving no stone unturned in its pursuit of those without valid documentation or legal status.

Qaiser Khan Afridi, spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), told Nukta that in April alone, approximately 24,665 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan so far — including 10,741 who were deported. All Afghan nationals who have no legal documents to stay or those holding Afghan Citizen Cards had been warned by Islamabad to return home or face deportation.

Islamabad says the drive is part of a campaign called the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023.

Pakistan has in the past blamed militant attacks and crimes on Afghan citizens, who form the largest portion of migrants in the country. Afghanistan has rejected the accusations. Kabul has termed the repatriation as forced deportation.

A police official in Islamabad, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Nukta that teams are going door-to-door in areas with large Afghan populations, checking documents and verifying identities. “We have clear orders from the high-ups,” he said. “The Afghans have left us with no option but to send them back forcefully.”

Is law enforcement going too far?

Like many others, after her visa expired, Hughmana Bibi, an Afghan widow living in Pakistan, was subjected to relentless police harassment that ultimately led to her rapid deportation.

In just 24 hours, Pakistani authorities deported her. The police visited her home in Golra, Islamabad, and threatened her multiple times. “One day, they came, told me to leave immediately, and within hours, I was sent to Quetta. I couldn’t even sell my belongings or take anything with me—just my four children. I was terrified of losing them.”

Hughmana had fled to Pakistan after the death of her husband during the chaotic U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan in 2021. With no support from her in-laws, who pressured her to remarry and give up custody of her children, Hughmana sought refuge in Pakistan, hoping to rebuild her life. “I had no one to protect me,” she said. “I just wanted to raise my children in peace.”

But her brief hope for safety was shattered when her visa expired, and, unable to renew it, Hughmana was forced to return to Afghanistan. Her deportation journey was swift and painful. She spent just a week in a government-run deportation center in Quetta before being transported through Chaman to Kandahar and finally arriving in Kabul.

The streets of Kabul are now a constant reminder of the violence that upended her life. “I can still see my husband’s blood on these roads,” she recalled, remembering how he was fatally injured during gunfire that followed a suicide bombing at Kabul Airport. “He died in my arms on the way to the hospital.”

However, going through this trauma, Hughmana still holds on to the hope that one day she may return to Pakistan. A Pakistani friend has kept her household belongings safe, and she continues to dream that “Maybe things will change, maybe I’ll be able to go back to the place that once felt like home.”

Minister stresses dignity in Afghan deportation process

Minister of State for Interior, Talal Chaudhry, has reassured the public that the ongoing repatriation of unregistered immigrants is being handled with the utmost respect for their dignity.

During a presser on Thursday, he mentioned that while illegal immigrants are being sent back to their countries, the government is ensuring their self-respect is maintained throughout the process, despite some efforts to create doubt about its fairness.

So far, a total of 857,157 illegal immigrants have been repatriated, with Chaudhry firmly underlining that there will be no extension of this process.

He acknowledged the large number of Afghan nationals in the country, adding that while they are cherished in Pakistan, the decision to deport is guided by the realities on the ground. Chaudhry insisted that no one should be allowed to stay in Pakistan without a valid Pakistani passport.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry leaves no room for doubt

Meanwhile, the Pakistani government remains firm in its stance on Afghan refugees, showing no signs of leniency.

Qadir Yar Tiwana, Director General of Media at the Ministry of Interior, told Nukta that, under directives from Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, the policy is clear: all undocumented Afghan nationals, including those holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), were required to leave the country by the March 31 deadline -- a deadline that has now come and gone.

"If they did not choose to leave respectfully and failed to comply with the government's directive, then what options are we left with?" he asked. "The only option now is to arrest them and send them back to their home country."

When asked about Afghan women fleeing gender-based violence and seeking refuge in Pakistan, he said he had no information about any government policy addressing this sensitive matter.

Human rights activists decry forced deportation

Muneeza Kakar, a human rights lawyer, said the government did not give Afghan refugees any real time for a dignified return

-- only issued public statements.

“How can people who were born and raised here be expected to wrap up their entire lives and leave the country within a month or two?” she asked. She called the government’s operations condemnable and a violation of international laws.

She further said that the police in Islamabad, Rangers in Karachi, and Frontier Corps (FC) in Balochistan are treating people very poorly under the pretext of these operations. “There is no respect for the dignity of women. Male police officers conduct night raids and even take women away,” she said, adding that these women are first taken to local police stations and then sent to deportation centers.

Samar Minullah, a human rights activist in Pakistan, shared her perspective with Nukta, saying, "A home is a woman's paradise, something she creates and nurtures with love and affection and it takes her life time, it’s not easy to wind up everything so quickly. While wealthy individuals can easily buy luxurious items to decorate their homes, the poor make everything by hand, whether it’s bed sheets, flowers, or wall hangings. Even though these Afghan women’s homes in Pakistan were made of mud, they were nothing short of a paradise. These homes reflected their skills and love. For the government to forcefully remove them from these sanctuaries is an oppressive move. These people have spent their lives here; what will they do in Afghanistan now? They share a culture and language with the Pashtun people of Pakistan, and their lives are deeply intertwined with this land."

Minullah, who also works on Pashtun culture, emphasized the strong cultural and familial ties shared by Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the local Pashtun community. This connection makes the forced return even more painful for those who have found refuge and built a life in Pakistan..