Posted on 02 November 2023
It was announced by Pakistan early last month that all Afghan migrants in the nation without legal documentation, almost 1.73 million refugees, would be forced to leave by November 1.
The establishment of deportation centres were approved last month, and 60,000 Afghans have already left the nation in advance of yesterday’s deadline. According to the nation’s Foreigner Act, authorities have the ability to arrest, detain or report any foreigner who lacks sufficient documentation.
Ravina Shamdasani, Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, stated on 27 October that “as winter approaches, any mass deportations are bound to deepen the dire humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, as it grapples with the devastating impact of a series of earthquakes that struck Herat Province.”
“We urge the Pakistan authorities to suspend forcible returns of Afghan nationals before it is too late to avoid a human rights catastrophe”, Shamdasani says.