If Pakistan carries out its threat, up to 1.7 million Afghan asylum seekers will be displaced.
The Pakistani government is tightening its immigration policy.
The Pakistani government issued an order on Wednesday that up to 1.7 million Afghans who entered the country illegally must leave the country by the end of November. He told about it, among other things British broadcasting company BBC.
There are an estimated 3.4 million Afghans in Pakistan. Pakistan has granted residence permits to about half of them. Border traffic between neighboring countries is busy. Trade is carried out across the border in both directions.
The border area is also associated with a change of direction in Pakistan’s politics. West Baluchistan in particular has been restless this year, and tensions have risen along the border. In what happened in Mastung last weekdozens of people died in an explosion near the mosque.
Fighters from both the Pakistani Taliban and ISIS operate in the troubled tribal region.
Pakistan blames the unrest and incidents on armed groups operating from the Afghan side.
Afghanistan’s Taliban regime has denied that it supports the armed forces. It strongly opposes Pakistan’s new policy. Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahidin according to “those in Pakistan illegally are not a security risk”.
The Taliban rule has increased the number of refugees
The right to seek asylum is stipulated in international law. Pakistan has received millions of refugees over the decades. 880,000 people have received a residence permit. The position of those seeking asylum is often weak, men work illegally in buildings and fruit markets, for example. Getting to a doctor is difficult.
The number of arrivals has increased since the extremist Islamist Taliban network came to power in 2021. Women in particular are trying to escape the regime that tramples on their rights.
Raids on Afghan shantytowns
The policy of the Ministry of Interior of Pakistan is strict. Those who are in the country illegally are going to be deported by force if they do not leave voluntarily. It is also planned to root out illegal business activities.
The details of the mass deportation have not been disclosed. The Pakistani army is said to have carried out surprise checks in refugee settlements and arrested a thousand people in two weeks. Afghans live in mud and straw huts, for example, on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad.
According to unofficial information, the departure order also applies to Afghans who have received a residence permit.
The topic can be discussed until Saturday, October 7, at 11 p.m.