Pakistan has confirmed its intent to execute its recently unveiled plans for the deportation of all migrants residing in the country without proper documentation. This includes approximately 1.7 million Afghans, and the process will be carried out in a "phased and orderly manner," the foreign ministry announced on Friday.
This statement appears to be an effort to allay international concerns and provide reassurance to Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Earlier in the week, Islamabad surprised many by declaring that all migrants, Afghans included, lacking valid documentation must leave voluntarily before October 31. Failure to do so would result in mass arrests and forced deportations, leading to a wave of panic among those residing in Pakistan without proper papers. The move also triggered widespread condemnation from human rights organizations, with activists expressing deep concerns over the forced deportation of Afghans, which they argue will expose them to severe risks.
On Friday, Mumtaz Zahra Baloch, the spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, clarified that the new policy is not exclusively directed at Afghans.
"We have been generously hosting Afghan refugees for the past four decades, dating back to the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation when millions of Afghans sought refuge here," she noted.
She emphasized that the approximately 1.4 million Afghan nationals registered as refugees in Pakistan need not be concerned.
"Our policy applies only to individuals who are in the country illegally, regardless of their nationality," she explained. "Unfortunately, there has been a misunderstanding or misrepresentation, and for some reason, people have begun associating this solely with Afghan refugees."
Baloch clarified that Pakistan's laws in this regard are in alignment with those of many other countries.
Amnesty International made an appeal on Thursday for Pakistan to permit Afghans to continue residing in the country, while the UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres' spokesman expressed concerns about the new policy the day before.
"As a matter of principle, it is critical that no refugees be sent back without it being a voluntary and dignified return," stated UN spokesman Stephane Dujarric at UN headquarters in New York on Wednesday.
In Kabul, the Taliban government's chief spokesman, Zabihullah Mujahid, also criticized Pakistan's announcement, deeming it "unacceptable." He urged Islamabad to reconsider its decision.
While Pakistani security forces and police have been arresting and deporting undocumented Afghans who have entered the country in recent years, this marks the first time the government has publicly declared its intention to undertake such a significant crackdown.
These developments occur amid a surge in attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, who have bases and hideouts in Afghanistan but frequently cross into Pakistan to launch attacks against Pakistani forces.
The outlawed Pakistani Taliban, known as Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, often claims responsibility for attacks on Pakistani security forces. However, they distanced themselves from a pair of suicide bombings last week that killed 59 people in regions bordering Afghanistan. No group has claimed responsibility for those attacks.
Baloch reported that some migrants without proper documentation, including Afghans, have already begun returning to their countries. "We are allowing a grace period until the end of the month," she stated.
Pakistan has persistently demanded that the Taliban authorities in Afghanistan cease supporting the TTP.
Although the Pakistani Taliban are a distinct entity, they maintain an alliance with the Afghan Taliban, who seized control of Afghanistan in mid-August 2021 as US and Nato forces completed their withdrawal from the country, ending a 20-year war. This development has emboldened the TTP.
Baloch also revealed that Pakistan's Foreign Minister Jalil Abbas Jilani held discussions in China, where he is on an official visit, with Afghanistan's Taliban-appointed Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi.
She described their meeting as "very productive" but provided no further details. She urged the Afghan Taliban to disarm the TTP, thereby preventing Afghan territory from being used as a launching pad for attacks in Pakistan.
However, she firmly emphasized that the planned crackdown on undocumented migrants in Pakistan is unrelated to negotiations with the Afghan Taliban authorities.
"Absolutely, this is not the case. Our only objective is for all illegal migrants to return," she stated.
