Pakistan has announced that all unauthorised migrants must depart the nation by November 1 as part of a harsh crackdown on Afghan refugees. The future of an estimated 1.7 million Afghans living in Pakistan is now uncertain and filled with anxiety as a result of this decision.
Many Afghans who have long resided in Pakistan are being forced to leave, taking with them their houses, companies, savings, and other possessions.
This dramatic move is justified by security concerns, according to the Pakistani government. Sarfraz Bugti, the acting interior minister, claims that Afghan nationals have been implicated in a substantial number of violent acts within the country.
The government claims that the Afghan Taliban gives these terrorists safe haven, and it has connected these security risks to Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
Pakistan has made attempts to drive out Afghan refugees before. Thousands have returned to Afghanistan as a result of previous campaigns, but the current situation appears to be more dire, with even those in possession of legitimate documents facing deportation after December 31, 2023.
The Afghan community has suffered greatly as a result. Many have spent decades building their lives and enterprises, such as Haji Mubarak Shinwari who arrived in Pakistan in 1982. They are now faced with the bleak possibility of losing everything.
‘We have lived here without documents for all these years and set up our businesses with the help of locals,’ Shinwari said, as quoted by news agency PTI.
Their situation is made worse by the government’s limitations on the amount of money and property that refugees are permitted to transfer to Afghanistan—just Rs 50,000 per individual.
Many Afghans are forced to sell their homes and possessions for just half the asking amount. For instance, last month Ahmed—a 30-year Quetta resident and owner of a shoe company—had to sell the majority of his shoes, which were valued at about half a million rupees.
Azmatullah Niazi, who owns clothing stores in a mall and lives in Karachi’s Clifton area, stated that a lot of wealthy Afghans are currently attempting to either contribute money to stay in Pakistan or use illicit means to send money to Afghanistan or their family members who live abroad.
Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees Abbas Khan has underlined the nation’s rigorous immigration policy, stating that all undocumented immigrants must depart. ‘All illegal immigrants have to leave as soon as possible and since their presence in the country has been or is illegal, they don’t have legal cover for their businesses, assets or properties,’ Khan stated.
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