ISLAMABAD: Repatriation of illegal foreign nationals including Afghans to their homeland is continuing in a dignified and safe manner.
According to the latest statistics, 8581 Afghan nationals returned to their country over the last eleven days while a total of 535,940 Afghans have been repatriated to Afghanistan till yesterday.
In October 2023, the government of Pakistan announced a plan to deport foreign nationals who either do not have valid visas or have overstayed their visa for more than one year.
The mass deportations affect primarily Afghans who fled to Pakistan after Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan. There were an estimated 3.8 million Afghans in Pakistan at the time the deportation order was announced according to the United Nations, while Pakistani authorities believed the number to be as high as 4.4 million.
Of these, only a few held the required documentation allowing them to legally stay in Pakistan. Afghans accounted for 95% of the foreign nationals in Pakistan.
The government cited increasing crime and violence, including suicide attacks, as the motivation for the mass deportations. However, outside observers noted there were likely also political reasons for the sudden deportations.