A huge number of Afghans headed to the Pakistani border to return home hours before a deadline set by the Pakistani government. Illegal residents must leave the country or face deportation – ABC News.
The deadline is part of a new crackdown on migrants, according to Islamabad. However, the measure applies to Afghans, who comprise the majority of migrants in Pakistan.
Pakistani officials warn that people staying in the country illegally will face arrest and deportation from November 1. UN agencies say there are more than 2 million undocumented Afghans living in Pakistan, at least 600,000 of whom have fled since the Taliban took power in 2021.
The campaign comes amid strained relations between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers. Islamabad accuses Kabul of closing its eyes to militant Taliban allies who take refuge in Afghanistan to organise attacks in Pakistan. The Taliban denies the accusations.
62-year-old Nasrullah Khan stated that the Taliban may be considering assisting Afghans on their return from Pakistan. He claimed that it is still “better to go back to Afghanistan instead of getting arrested here [in Pakistan].”
Since the repressive policy was initiated, more than 200,000 Afghans have returned home. UN agencies have reported a sharp increase in the number of Afghans leaving Pakistan ahead of the deadline.
Pakistan insists that deportations will be carried out in a “phased and orderly” manner.
Afghanistan is suffering a major humanitarian crisis as the Taliban bans girls and women from education beyond the sixth grade and from most public places and jobs.
A government spokesman in Pakistan’s Balochistan province in the southwest, Jan Achakzai, stated on Tuesday that anyone detained under the new policy would be treated well and taken to the Chaman border crossing point.
