More than 10,000 Afghan refugees flee Pakistan fearing forced deportation

Thousands of Afghan migrants in Pakistan rushed to the border on Tuesday, the last day of a deadline for around 1.7 million Afghans to leave the country or face the risk of arrest and deportation.

According to a senior government official at the Turkham border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, “more than 10,000 refugees have gathered since morning,” waiting “for their turn to board vehicles and trucks and the number is increasing.”

Police in the province said they had not yet begun arrest operations as families are leaving voluntarily, but Afghan refugees in Karachi and Islamabad reported arrests, harassment, and extortion.

The Pakistani government said the deportations are aimed at protecting the “safety and security” of the country as anti-Afghan sentiment grows amid a worsening economic situation and a rise in cross-border attacks.

It said it will begin arresting undocumented Afghans and transferring them to new detention centers starting Wednesday, from where they will be deported to Afghanistan.

In contrast, Human Rights Watch said on Tuesday that “the Pakistani government is using threats, abuses, and arrests to force Afghan asylum seekers who lack legal status to return to Afghanistan or face deportation.”

Since the beginning of October, more than 100,000 Afghan migrants have left Pakistan via the Torkham border in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the majority of Afghan migrants live. This was when the government announced a one-month deadline for 1.7 million Afghans it says are living illegally in Pakistan to leave.

Lawyers and activists have pointed out that the scale of the security operation is unprecedented, and have called for Afghans to be given more time to leave with dignity, as some have been living in the country for decades.