2nd phase of repatriating Afghans on the cards

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Despite criticism from Kabul and human rights groups, Pakistan is gearing up for the second phase of repatriating Afghan refugees.

Nearly one million registered Afghan citizens could be sent back to their homeland, with district authorities and police directed to map whereabouts of the refugees.

Directives had been issued to district administrations and police to speed,  the mapping of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, Dawn reported on Monday, citing official sources.

Although no date has yet been announced yet, the second phase of the repatriation campaign is expected to commence in early or mid-summer.

The UN refugee agency says Pakistan is home to 2.18 million documented Afghan nationals. This includes 1.3 million refugees with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards and an additional 880,000 who were granted ACCs in 2017.

After the regime change in August 2021, nearly 800,000 Afghans, some with valid travel documents, streamed into Pakistan.

In the first round of repatriation of “undocumented aliens” in November last year, Pakistan is believed to have expelled more than half a million Afghans.

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