Amnesty International has launched a new campaign, #UndotheDeadline, calling on the Pakistani government to stop the deportation of Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers. The campaign accompanies the release of a report titled “Treat us like human beings”: Afghans in Pakistan at risk of unlawful deportation, which features the personal stories of ten Afghan individuals at risk of being returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
The Pakistani government began a phased deportation plan in October 2023, affecting thousands of Afghans, some of whom have lived in the country for over four decades. Amnesty International warns that many of those facing deportation are journalists, artists, women, and human rights defenders who would be at serious risk if forced to return.
Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said the move violates the principle of non-refoulement under international human rights law, stressing that the current policy could uproot lives built over decades. The organisation is urging Pakistan to suspend the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’, particularly in cities like Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and protect vulnerable Afghan communities who fled persecution.
