Thousands of Afghans are returning to their country as the deadline set by Pakistan to return to their country is about to expire. The government of Islamabad is threatening to forcibly expel the 1.73 million irregular migrants of this nationality from November 1st. Pakistani Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced the decision on October 3 after revealing that 14 of the 24 suicide attacks in the country this year were carried out by Afghans.
The Taliban reported this Monday a massive increase in the arrival of citizens from Pakistan at the border crossings, as the deadline that Islamabad had granted to all undocumented migrants in the order issued on October 3 is about to expire. Since the announcement of the ultimatum and as of October 15, at least 59,780 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan, according to the latest UN data. In the last few days the number of returns has multiplied.
According to Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, nearly 8,500 people crossed the key Torkham border crossing on Sunday, one of the main border crossings between the two countries, and were registered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). To this number we must add the thousands of people crossing other border crossings similar to Chaman, which has increased in recent days as October 31, the last day for all migrants, approaches. They leave Pakistan without papers if they do not want to be deported.
This massive influx has led to long queues at border crossings. One of the thousands of Afghans who recently returned from Pakistan, Azim Gul, told Efe: “On both sides, thousands of people, including children and women, are waiting in the sun, in hot and dusty weather.” “There are a lot of people waiting To and management does not have the capacity To returnees,” Gul added.
Pakistan and Afghanistan share a porous border that stretches around 2,600 kilometers. Thousands of people cross it every day and without visas, but after the deadline, Pakistani authorities will begin requesting these documents, a mandatory requirement for entry into the country.
According to the Interior Minister, around 1.73 million Afghan citizens in Pakistan do not have legal documents to stay in the country. “They are attacking us from Afghanistan and Afghan citizens are involved in the attacks against us,” Bugti said. “We have evidence.”
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In addition to migrants in an irregular situation, UNHCR says the country hosts 1.4 million Afghan refugees. Like other states in South Asia, the country is not a party to the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and has no specific laws for this group.
The Pakistani army has carried out several offensives against Islamist militants, especially in the rugged mountainous region on the Afghan border, and says it has forced them to flee to Afghanistan. Islamabad alleges that militants are using Afghan soil to train fighters and plan attacks inside Pakistan, a charge Kabul denies, saying Pakistani security is an internal matter.
The UN is calling for the expulsion to be suspended
The UN human rights office has called on Pakistani authorities to suspend the expulsion order, saying it could “exacerbate” the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. “We ask you to continue to provide protection to those who need it and to ensure that any future return is safe, dignified and voluntary, in accordance with international law,” said United Nations Office spokeswoman Ravina Shamdasani.
The Taliban’s seizure of power in Afghanistan in August 2021 led to the exodus of at least 600,000 Afghans to Pakistan, many of whom, as the UN agency emphasizes, face human rights violations such as arbitrary detention or torture when they return to their country of origin.
In this sense, the speaker emphasized the particularly precarious situation of activists, journalists and human rights defenders as well as Afghan women and girls, who are particularly affected by the Taliban’s restrictive policies. These Afghan women are prohibited from pursuing secondary and higher education, working in many fields and participating in other aspects of daily and public life, he affirmed. “We remind the de facto authorities of Afghanistan of their international human rights obligations and their obligation to protect, promote and fulfill human rights,” Shamdasani concluded.
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