Deadline for illegal Pakistani residents to leave
A government deadline for all illegal Afghan migrants to leave Pakistan expires today.
On October 3, Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced that the estimated 1.7 million illegal migrants from Afghanistan in Pakistan would have to leave by November 1 or face expulsion. The government has already set up deportation centers and stated that action would be taken against anyone sheltering illegal migrants.
The move has proven largely popular in Pakistan, given the country’s economic woes and public fear of Afghans competing for limited jobs. In addition, the Pakistani government has blamed Afghan migrants for many recent terror attacks. Islamabad, which previously funded the Taliban in their fight against the former U.S.-supported Afghan government, are also furious with Taliban leaders for defying Pakistan since their takeover of Afghanistan in 2021.
Over a third of the affected Afghan migrants have fled to Pakistan since the Taliban took power two years ago. They will now be forced to return to Afghanistan, a country that is already experiencing deep economic and humanitarian crises. The return of Afghan refugees will be an additional burden to Afghanistan and will likely further deteriorate the already troubled relations between Kabul and Islamabad. Several UN agencies have urged Pakistan to suspend the planned deportation.
