Hundreds of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan faced detention and deportation yesterday, as a government deadline for them to leave sparked a mass exodus.
The government had given 1.7 million Afghans it says are living illegally in the country until yesterday to leave voluntarily or be forcibly removed.
Thousands yesterday joined a snaking queue that stretched 7km at the busiest border point, with border officials reporting that at least 29,000 people crossed into Afghanistan the day before.
Photo: AFP
“Since Nov. 1, the process of arrest and subsequent deportation of illegal foreigners has begun. However, the voluntary return of illegal foreigners will also continue and be encouraged,” the Pakistani Ministry of the Interior said in a statement.
It said that more than 140,000 people have left Pakistan since the start of last month when the order was issued by an unelected caretaker government ahead of elections due in January.
Forty-nine holding centers, some capable of housing several thousand people, yesterday opened across the country to process and deport Afghans, state media said.
“My heart doesn’t really want to return to Afghanistan, but I have no other choice,” 32-year-old Irfanullah said, as he waited to be deported. “The police were harassing me ... they used to disrespect all the men and women by entering our houses, that’s why we are returning, to avoid further humiliation.”
Millions of Afghans have poured into Pakistan in the past few decades, fleeing a series of violent conflicts, including an estimated 600,000 since the Taliban government seized power in August 2021 and imposed its harsh interpretation of Islamic law.
Human Rights Watch has said that Afghans awaiting resettlement to Canada, Germany, the UK and the US after fleeing the Taliban government are at risk of deportation after their Pakistan visas expired.
Pakistan has said that the deportations are required to protect its “welfare and security” after a sharp rise in attacks, which the government blames on militants operating from Afghanistan.
Authorities on the Afghan side of the border have been overwhelmed by the scale of the exodus as they attempt to process those returning — some of whom are setting foot in Afghanistan for the first time in their lives.
Samiullah Samoon, who leads immigration registration in Torkham, Pakistan, said that the crossing is facing “an emergency situation.”
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