Pakistan ordered all documented Afghan migrants to leave the country by March 31 or risk deportation. The directive was issued yesterday, a day after the Afghan Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation Affairs urged Pakistan to slow down the expulsion of Afghans. The order called on those with Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) to leave the country within the next three weeks, stating that the deportation of documented migrants would begin on April 1. Local media reported that this affects nearly 900,000 documented Afghan economic migrants residing in Pakistan.
Pakistan launched the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Programme in October 2023 after a dramatic rise in violence that Islamabad blamed on militants operating from Afghanistan. According to data from the U.N. refugee agency, more than 842,000 Afghans have left Pakistan since the expulsion drive began, including more than 40,000 deportees.
