Pakistan resumes expulsions of Afghan refugees despite UN concerns
The decision affects approximately 1.4 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, whose legal status expired at the end of June.
Many had hoped for a one-year extension to settle personal affairs, such as selling property or concluding business, before returning to Afghanistan.
In addition to PoR card holders, around 800,000 Afghans hold Afghan Citizen Cards.
Police say they also are living in the country illegally and being detained prior to deportations in the eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province.
Monday's decision drew criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency.
At least 1.2 million Afghan nationals have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, according to a June report published by UNHCR.
Repatriations on such a massive scale have the potential to destabilise the fragile situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government came into power in 2021.
A 31 July government notification confirmed Pakistan's decision to repatriate all Afghan nationals holding expired PoR cards.
It states Afghans without valid passports and Pakistani visas are in the country illegally and must return to their homeland under local immigration laws.
Police across Pakistan are detaining Afghans to transport them to border crossings, according to two government and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly.
They said there are no mass arrests and police were told to go to house-to-house and make random checks to detain foreigners living in the country illegally.
"Yes, the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan illegally are being sent back in a dignified way," said Shakeel Khan, commissioner for Afghan refugees in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.
The latest operation is the most significant step yet under orders from federal government in Islamabad, he said.
Afghan national Rehmat Ullah, 35, said his family migrated to Pakistan's north-western Peshawar city decades ago and now is preparing to return home.
"I have five children and my concern is that they will miss their education," he said. "I was born here, my children were born here and now we are going back."
Millions have fled to Pakistan over the past four decades to escape war, political unrest and economic hardship in Afghanistan.
The renewed deportation drive follows a nationwide crackdown launched in 2023 targeting foreigners living illegally in Pakistan.
The Interior Ministry, which oversees the campaign, did not immediately comment.
Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, expressed deep concern over the government's actions.
"Sending people back in this manner is tantamount to refoulement and a breach of a state's international obligations," Afridi said in a statement, urging Pakistan to adopt a "humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual, and dignified return of Afghans."
"Such massive and hasty return could jeopardise the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while also risking instability not only in Afghanistan but across the region."
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
France 24
22 minutes ago
- France 24
Decision time as plastic pollution treaty talks begin
Nations are trying to secure the world's first treaty on plastic pollution Three years of negotiations hit the wall in South Korea in December when a group of oil-producing states blocked a consensus. Since the failure in Busan, countries have been working behind the scenes and are giving it another go in Geneva, in talks at the United Nations. Key figures steering the negotiations said they were not expecting an easy ride this time round, but insisted a deal remained within reach. "There's been extensive diplomacy from Busan till now," UN Environment Programme executive director Inger Andersen told AFP. UNEP is hosting the talks, and Andersen said conversations across, between and among different regions and interest groups had generated momentum. "Most countries, actually, that I have spoken with have said: 'We're coming to Geneva to strike the deal'. "Will it be easy? No. Will it be straightforward? No. Is there a pathway for a deal? Absolutely." Human bodies riddled Plastic pollution is so ubiquitous that microplastics have been found on the highest mountain peaks, in the deepest ocean trench and scattered throughout almost every part of the human body. In 2022, countries agreed they would find a way to address the crisis by the end of 2024. However, the supposedly final round of negotiations on a legally-binding instrument on plastic pollution, including in the seas, flopped in Busan. Benjamin Von Wong's artwork 'The Thinker's Burden' is being built up outside the United Nations during the negotiations © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP One group of countries sought an ambitious deal to limit production and phase out harmful chemicals. But a clutch of mostly oil-producing nations rejected production limits and wanted to focus more narrowly on treating waste. Ecuadoran diplomat Luis Vayas Valdivieso, chairing the talks process, said an effective, fair and ambitious agreement was now within reach. "Our paths and positions might differ; our destination is the same," he said Monday. "We are all here because we believe in a shared cause: a world free of plastic pollution." 'Plastic-free future' More than 600 non-governmental organisations are attending the Geneva talks. Valdivieso said lessons had been learned from Busan, and NGOs and civil society would now have access to the discussions tackling the thorniest points, such as banning certain chemicals and capping production. Plastic waste has been found from the bottom of the seas to the tops of mountains © LAKRUWAN WANNIARACHCHI / AFP "To solve the plastic pollution crisis, we have to stop making so much plastic," Greenpeace delegation chief Graham Forbes told AFP. The group and its allies want a treaty "that cuts plastic production, eliminates toxic chemicals, and provides the financing that's going to be required to transition to a fossil fuel, plastic-free future", he said. "The fossil fuel industry is here in force," he noted, adding: "We cannot let a few countries determine humanity's future when it comes to plastic pollution." Dumped, burned and trashed Well over 400 million tonnes of plastic are produced globally each year, half of which is for single-use items. Global plastics production could almost triple between 2019 and 2060 © Sylvie HUSSON, Christophe THALABOT / AFP While 15 percent of plastic waste is collected for recycling, only nine percent is actually recycled. Nearly half, 46 percent, ends up in landfills, while 17 percent is incinerated and 22 percent is mismanaged and becomes litter. A report in The Lancet medical journal warned Monday that plastic pollution was a "grave, growing and under-recognised danger" to health, costing the world at least $1.5 trillion a year in health-related economic losses. The new review of existing evidence, conducted by leading health researchers and doctors, compared plastic to air pollution and lead, saying its impact on health could be mitigated by laws and policies. To hammer home the message, a replica outside the UN of Auguste Rodin's famous sculpture "The Thinker" will be slowly submerged in mounting plastic rubbish during the talks. Outside the UN, Canadian activist Benjamin Von Wong's artwork 'The Thinker's Burden' is being slowly submerged in plastic rubbish © Fabrice COFFRINI / AFP The artwork, entitled "The Thinker's Burden", is being constructed by the Canadian artist and activist Benjamin Von Wong. "If you want to protect health, then we need to think about the toxic chemicals that are entering our environment," he told AFP. But Matthew Kastner, spokesman for the American Chemistry Council, said the plastics industry and the products it makes were "vital to public health", notably through medical devices, surgical masks, child safety seats, helmets and pipes delivering clean water. © 2025 AFP
Euronews
9 hours ago
- Euronews
Pakistan resumes expulsions of Afghan refugees despite UN concerns
Authorities in Pakistan have resumed the forced deportations of Afghan refugees after the federal government declined to extend a deadline for their stay, officials said on Monday. The decision affects approximately 1.4 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, whose legal status expired at the end of June. Many had hoped for a one-year extension to settle personal affairs, such as selling property or concluding business, before returning to Afghanistan. In addition to PoR card holders, around 800,000 Afghans hold Afghan Citizen Cards. Police say they also are living in the country illegally and being detained prior to deportations in the eastern Punjab, southwestern Balochistan and southern Sindh province. Monday's decision drew criticism from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the UN refugee agency. At least 1.2 million Afghan nationals have been forced to return from Iran and Pakistan this year, according to a June report published by UNHCR. Repatriations on such a massive scale have the potential to destabilise the fragile situation in Afghanistan, where the Taliban government came into power in 2021. A 31 July government notification confirmed Pakistan's decision to repatriate all Afghan nationals holding expired PoR cards. It states Afghans without valid passports and Pakistani visas are in the country illegally and must return to their homeland under local immigration laws. Police across Pakistan are detaining Afghans to transport them to border crossings, according to two government and security officials who spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorised to speak publicly. They said there are no mass arrests and police were told to go to house-to-house and make random checks to detain foreigners living in the country illegally. "Yes, the Afghan refugees living in Pakistan illegally are being sent back in a dignified way," said Shakeel Khan, commissioner for Afghan refugees in north-western Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The latest operation is the most significant step yet under orders from federal government in Islamabad, he said. Afghan national Rehmat Ullah, 35, said his family migrated to Pakistan's north-western Peshawar city decades ago and now is preparing to return home. "I have five children and my concern is that they will miss their education," he said. "I was born here, my children were born here and now we are going back." Millions have fled to Pakistan over the past four decades to escape war, political unrest and economic hardship in Afghanistan. The renewed deportation drive follows a nationwide crackdown launched in 2023 targeting foreigners living illegally in Pakistan. The Interior Ministry, which oversees the campaign, did not immediately comment. Qaiser Khan Afridi, a spokesperson for the UN refugee agency, expressed deep concern over the government's actions. "Sending people back in this manner is tantamount to refoulement and a breach of a state's international obligations," Afridi said in a statement, urging Pakistan to adopt a "humane approach to ensure voluntary, gradual, and dignified return of Afghans." "Such massive and hasty return could jeopardise the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while also risking instability not only in Afghanistan but across the region."
Euronews
16 hours ago
- Euronews
UN special representative to Cyprus departs with peace talks in limbo
The UN Secretary General's Special Representative for Cyprus on Monday had his last meeting with the President of Cyprus, Nikos Christodoulides. The Canadian Colin Stewart is retiring from his position as Special Representative. Upon his departure, he expressed his disappointment over the attitude of both the Greek and Turkish Cypriot leaders in formal discussions on the Cyprus issue. Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek-backed coup triggered a Turkish military intervention. The Republic of Cyprus which encompasses the southern two-thirds of the island, is internationally recognised and an EU member state, while the breakaway entity in northern Cyprus remains recognised only by Turkey. The UN has maintained a peacekeeping force in Cyprus since 1964. "A fundamental requirement is the will to find common ground, and that is different from trying to win or trying to impose your point of view," Stewart said. "One thing I found disappointing was how little they (the two sides) had in common, compared to the official views of the two sides." Stewart added that "people in Cyprus have a lot in common" and "don't have any problems with each other." He said that "millions of people a year" pass through the crossing points from north to south and vice versa, "but what is required is the will to find a solution that is mutually acceptable." Director of President Christodoulides' Press Office Victor Papadopoulos openly disagreed with Stewart's view, saying "I cannot say that we share such assessments. We are all bound by UN resolutions, and UN representatives are bound by UN and UN Security Council resolutions." "Everyone knows," he added, "that Ankara holds the 'key'." Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar says Stewart 'undermined' impartiality Turkish Cypriot leader Ersin Tatar lashed out at previous statements gave to local media, which he said was "incompatible with the impartiality of the UN's mission." The UN representative had told Cypriot newspaper Phileleftheros that "first of all, there are not many people in the north who take a two-state solution seriously." "There is no scenario under which the north will turn into an independent state recognised by the international community. That is not going to happen,' he continued. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly promoted the idea, urging the international community to recognise the island's division. Tatar reacted by saying "The Turkish Cypriot side will remember [Stewart] as an official who, during his term, failed to fulfil his responsibility to increase trust between the two sides, undermined the perception of impartiality on some critical issues and, in particular, failed to show the necessary sensitivity to the legitimate humanitarian demands of our people." 'The Turkish Cypriot side has repeatedly and clearly demonstrated its will for a solution. This vision is shaped by the reality of two separate peoples, two separate democracies, and two separate states in Cyprus. A lasting and just solution in Cyprus is only possible by taking the current reality as a basis,' Tatar added. It is not yet known who will replace Colin Stewart in his now vacant role.
