Pakistan set to expel Afghan refugees amid crackdown, warns Afghan embassy

Pakistan is set to expel Afghan refugees, with arrests and forced relocations already occurring, the Afghan embassy in Islamabad warned. Despite hosting 1.45 million registered refugees, undocumented Afghans face increasing crackdowns in Pakistan.  

The Afghan embassy in Islamabad has warned that Pakistan is preparing to expel all Afghan refugees, with arrests and forced relocations already underway in the capital and Rawalpindi, according to a report in Associate Press.

Despite no formal announcement, Afghan nationals have reported increasing police action, including detentions, searches, and orders to leave.

The Afghan embassy stated that the detention of Afghans began without any official announcement and that Pakistan has not formally communicated this action to them through any official correspondence. The embassy criticized the lack of official communication regarding the crackdown.

Pakistan hosts around 1.45 million registered Afghan refugees under UNHCR, in addition to hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghans.