Sindh deports 307 illegal Afghans amid ongoing repatriation

• Deportees include 191 men, 37 women, and 79 children. 
• Memon says only those illegally residing are being deported. 
• Vows to continue campaign against undocumented migrants.

KARACHI: At least 307 illegal Afghan immigrants have been deported from Sindh so far as part of the government’s policy to deport all undocumented foreign nationals, Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Inam Memon said on Sunday.

In a statement, Memon said that the illegal immigrants were repatriated from the Amin House Transit Camp after thorough verification, legal proceedings, and background checks. He said the deportees included 191 men, 37 women, and 79 children.

The federal government announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be cancelled — the second phase of a deportation programme which has already forced 800,000 undocumented Afghans across the border.

The country has been hosting millions of Afghans for around five decades. Hundreds of thousands of them returned to their country in the last few years but still over 2.1 million are living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and other provinces.

Pakistan had set March 31 as the deadline for all the illegal Afghans as well as those who possessed ACC cards to return to their country amid rising incidents of terrorism in the country.

Last year was the deadliest year in almost a decade in Pakistan, with more than 1,600 people lost their lives in attacks — nearly half of them security forces personnel — according to the Islamabad-based Centre for Research and Security Studies.

Pakistan accuses the Taliban government of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government denies.

The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the "dignified" return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force them out.

On February 13, the interior minister asked the Sindh government to initiate the repatriation of all ACC holders to their country of origin under the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP). As part of the plan, voluntary return until March 31 ended and “forced repatriation” from April 1 has begun.

Memon, in the statement today said, an initial list of 313 individuals had been compiled, and following a screening process, 307 were found eligible for deportation. He noted that only those illegally residing in the country are being deported.

The minister reaffirmed the government's commitment to continuing the campaign against undocumented migrants in compliance with international laws and protocols.

“Pakistan is repatriating illegal immigrants in accordance with global principles,” he said, adding that the Sindh government’s operation will remain ongoing.

Number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan

According to data obtained by Geo News, there are currently 2.1 million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

Sources in the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron) state that 1.4 million Afghan refugees are legally registered, while 800,000 Afghan nationals hold an 'Afghan Citizen Card' (ACC), but their stay is now considered illegal. 

However, the government claims that the total number of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is three million, all of whom are set to be repatriated this year under the illegal foreign nationals' deportation plan.

Four categories

Afghan nationals residing in Pakistan for decades fall into four categories.

The first category consists of Afghan citizens who fled to Pakistan due to instability in Afghanistan and were granted official refugee status. In 2007, Pakistan issued Proof of Registration (PoR) Cards to these refugees, who now number around 1.3 million. The government issued these cards only once, renewing them periodically, with the current validity expiring on June 30, 2025.

The second category includes Afghan nationals who were issued Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC). Approximately 800,000 individuals received these cards in 2016, and they are now being repatriated as part of government deportation efforts.

The third category comprises Afghan nationals who fled to Pakistan after the Taliban takeover in 2021. These individuals were granted asylum under international protocols. While the Pakistani government initially claimed that 600,000 Afghans arrived after the US withdrawal, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) states that only 200,000 were officially registered.

The fourth category includes undocumented Afghan nationals who lack both PoR and ACC status and are not registered as asylum seekers from the 2021 influx. This category also includes those who have married in Pakistan and obtained fake national identity cards. Over the past two years, the National Database and Registration Authority (Nadra) has been cancelling such fraudulent IDs through its National Verification and Renewal Drive, now classifying these individuals as illegal residents.