Pakistan Urges Afghans to Depart, Border Rush Ensues

Pakistani officials have once again requested that Afghan nationals residing in the southwestern regions of the country leave, which has prompted a surge of people heading towards the border.

A repatriation effort, which initially commenced in 2023, was revitalized in April. The government annulled hundreds of thousands of Afghan residence permits and cautioned that those who remained would be subject to arrest.

Mehar Ullah, a senior government representative in Quetta, stated that they have been instructed by the home department to initiate a renewed operation to repatriate all Afghans in a respectful and organized fashion.

According to Habib Bingalzai, another senior official located in Chaman, approximately 4,000 to 5,000 individuals were present at the Chaman border on Friday, awaiting their return.

Abdul Latif Hakimi, who leads Refugee Registration in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province on the other side of the border, confirmed their awareness of the increased influx of returning Afghans.

Since 2023, over a million Afghans have reportedly left Pakistan, with more than 200,000 having departed since April.

The campaign specifically targeted over 800,000 Afghans possessing temporary residency permits, some of whom were either born in Pakistan or have resided there for several decades.

Last year, Pakistan experienced the highest number of fatalities from attacks in a decade, and the government has frequently accused Afghan citizens of involvement in these incidents.

Iran has also initiated a substantial deportation campaign of Afghans, resulting in over 1.5 million individuals being sent back across the border.