As part of its drive to expel Afghan citizens from the nation’s capital, Pakistan has deported dozens bearing UNHCR-issued documents, the agency told VOA Thursday.
Authorities in Islamabad deported 285 Afghans between Jan. 1 and 15, according to the refugee agency. Its Pakistan representative, Philippa Candler, told VOA that 80 of those deported were in possession of preliminary documents the agency had given them.
Although initial documentation issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees does not give legal cover to Afghans, it can show the agency may be determining their refugee status, or that a person may be in the early stages of the resettlement process, Candler explained.
Candler said that in the past, Pakistani authorities generally refrained from deporting those possessing any agency-issued papers.
“We could by and large get Afghans with our documents released,” Candler said, referring to actions against Afghans since Pakistan launched a nationwide drive in October 2023 to expel undocumented residents amid rising terrorism.
Candler attributed past leniency to goodwill.
Expulsion order
The tougher action comes after Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi announced in November that all Afghan citizens would require a no-objection certificate, or NOC, from the city administration to stay in the capital past the end of the year.
The minister alleged Afghan citizens took part in a protest that saw thousands of supporters of incarcerated former Prime Minister Imran Khan descend on Islamabad between Nov. 24 to 26. At least four security personnel were killed before authorities launched a crackdown that Khan’s party says killed at least 12 supporters.
Raids
“It’s not a nice experience,” said Enayatuallah Omid, who said he was detained for hours along with others at a police station in Islamabad after law enforcement authorities raided his neighborhood Jan. 5.
An Afghan journalist, Omid arrived in Pakistan in July 2022 on a medical visa to flee Taliban repression.
He said the constant fear of deportation is deeply hurting his family.
“My wife has attempted suicide three times. Every time the pressure builds up, she tries to kill herself.” Quoting her, Omid said, ‘What kind of a life is this?’”
Amnesty International has decried the requirement of NOC for Afghan refugees as an “onerous obligation.”
Omid said, though, that the process of applying for a no-objection certificate was easy.
“They behaved nicely,” he said, referring to the officials at Islamabad district commissioner’s office.
But Omid has only a receipt showing he has applied for the NOC. He said he did not know if he would receive any more documentation allowing him to stay in the capital.
International pressure
Candler told VOA that her office is working with Pakistani authorities to help Afghans who are registered with UNHCR. However, she said the Afghan Taliban’s claim that Pakistan detained more than 800 Afghans in the first week of the year could not be confirmed.
The Afghan Taliban’s envoy in Islamabad, Mawlawi Sardar Ahmad Shakib, met Wednesday with Candler to convey concerns about Pakistan’s detention and deportation of registered Afghan refugees from Islamabad and neighboring Rawalpindi.
Islamabad authorities deny targeting documented refugees and registered Afghan citizens, or those awaiting third country repatriation. Responding to reports of mistreatment, officials have said teams abide by the law during raids.
Recent press releases from Pakistan’s interior ministry show that envoys from Washington and London discussed the expulsion of Afghans from the capital with Naqvi. Thousands of Afghans in Islamabad are awaiting repatriation to the United States and Britain.
“Mohsin Naqvi stated that no illegal foreigner will be allowed to stay in Pakistan,” according to a handout issued Thursday after the minister’s meeting with the outgoing U.S. Ambassador to Pakistan Donald Blome.
“Minister highlighted that no action is being taken against any foreign national holding valid documents,” said an interior ministry statement after Naqvi met Saturday with the British high commissioner to Pakistan, Jane Marriott.
Pakistan is home to 3.1 million Afghans. More than 800,000 are undocumented. This includes Afghans born in Pakistan, as well as those who fled their country after the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
More than 813,000 Afghans have returned to their home country since September 2023, including about 300,000 last year. More than 38,000 have been deported in almost 15 months, according to the U.N.