Pakistan’s Deputy Minister of the Interior Ministry, Talal Chaudhry, says a new deadline will not be granted for Afghan refugees to leave the country. He stated that the process of returning undocumented migrants to Afghanistan is ongoing and that no new extension for their expulsion will be considered.
According to him, over 800,000 Afghan migrants—some of whom even held ACC cards have been deported so far.
“Those who only have the “ACC” cards or any other type of card are being sent back to their country. Since October 30, 2023, more than 800,000 people have been deported, and in the past few days alone, 11,000 individuals with ACC cards were returned to Afghanistan. This process will continue. As for asylum seekers being transferred to other countries, they have until the end of April this year—a deadline which will not be extended,” he added.
Meanwhile, Acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Mawlavi Abdul Kabir, during a meeting with Robert Chatterton Dickson, the British chargé d’affaires for Afghanistan, stated that Pakistan has intensified the forced deportation of migrants in violation of international laws and norms.
He emphasized that addressing the situation of these migrants requires increased support from the international community.
In this meeting, Dickson also said that the UK has added more than seven million pounds to its humanitarian aid to provide additional support for the Afghan migrants.
