Pakistan delays Afghan refugee expulsion for 10 days

Kabul (Pajhwok): Pakistan has postponed the arrests and deportations of Afghan refugees, originally set to begin on April 1, pushing the deadline to April 10 due to the Eid al-Fitr holidays, according to a media report.

The crackdown was delayed based on government documents obtained by The Associated Press.

Meanwhile, the Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that the police chief of Rawalpindi has issued orders for the arrest and deportation of undocumented Afghan refugees.

Maulvi Abdul Kabir, the acting minister of refugees and repatriation, called on neighboring countries to halt the forced deportation of Afghan refugees.

He said: “It is our responsibility to ensure that all returning Afghan refugees and internally displaced persons are relocated to their original areas.”

Previously, Amnesty International had also called for the immediate cancellation of Pakistan’s forced deportation plan for Afghan refugees.

According to the International Organization for Migration, approximately 845,000 Afghans have left Pakistan over the past 18 months.

Currently, an estimated three million Afghan refugees reside in Pakistan, with one million lacking legal documentation.

sa