Pakistan-based Uyghur refugees face expulsion in April

About 100 Uyghur refugees in Pakistan are facing deportation after the Muslim fasting month of Ramadan, Radio Free Asia reported yesterday.

The 18 refugee families fear deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan or China, where they may face persecution, the article added.

The Uyghurs are part of a larger group of 1.7 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, which the government announced it would deport last October.

According to the news agency, the U.N. refugee agency intervened on behalf of the Uyghurs, and their stay was extended for six months.

However, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry is now reviewing a repatriation plan that includes the Uyghurs in the deportation effort after Eid al-Fitr in April.

The Uyghur families are registered as Afghan refugees and hold Afghan Citizen Cards, but they have no passports or legal identity.

Despite residing in Pakistan for years, they have not been granted citizenship, passports, or residency status.