Pakistan Increases Deportations of Undocumented Afghan Refugees

A map of the Afghanistan-Pakistan border. The mountainous nature of this border has made it easy to cross undetected, both for refugees and terrorist groups. (Wikimedia Commons)

Pakistan has increased the rate of deportation of Afghan refugees without documentation, according to AP News. The Afghan embassy in Pakistan condemned the decision for its unilateral nature and warned that “expulsion is imminent” for the refugees, per The Washington Post. 

This crackdown is partly due to the Trump administration ending refugee programs, stranding  approximately 20,000 Afghan citizens who were applying for U.S. visas in Pakistan, per AP News. In particular, the Office of the Coordinator for Afghan Relocation Efforts, which was created after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan to help Afghans working with the United States, is planning for closure according to Reuters.

Pakistan began its crackdown on Afghan refugees in late 2023, following the arrival of over 500,000 refugees who left Afghanistan after the Taliban seized control, per The Washington Post. The government cited terrorism concerns from the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Reuters reported. The TTP has grown in strength since the Afghan Taliban took power in Afghanistan, and the Pakistani government has accused the Afghan Taliban of sheltering the TTP, according to the Carnegie Endowment. However, Foreign Policy argued that Pakistan is scapegoating Afghans for domestic economic issues. Even before the executive order increased the pace of government action, Amnesty International was decrying the actions of Pakistani law enforcement and the additional documentation barriers applied to Afghan refugees. It says that authorities have even detained Afghans that have proper papers.

This surge in deportations is expected to raise already high tensions between Afghanistan and Pakistan. In March 2024, Pakistan launched air strikes inside Afghanistan, targeting the TTP, which the Afghan government claims killed eight civilians, France 24 reported. In response, the Afghan defense ministry says that it fired across the border with “heavy weapons.” This low-intensity violence has continued, and will escalate with the new Pakistani policy.