As the returns and deportations of Afghans decreased significantly in March, mainly due to the border closure, Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to withdraw the opaque ‘illegal foreigners’ repatriation plan targeting Afghan refugees.
Publish dateThursday 27 March 2025 - 09:25
Story Code : 311111
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Monitoring: In a statement issued on Wednesday, Amnesty, ahead of the March 31 deadline, said that the “arbitrarily and forcibly expelling Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers, will only add to their plight”.
“The Pakistani government’s unyielding and cruel deadline, which is less than a week away, to remove Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from two major cities, resulting in the deportation of many at risk, shows little respect for international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement,” Amnesty says in a strong-worded statement.
The exact content of the Pakistan government’s ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ used for deportations has never been made public, but it comes amid a campaign to wrongfully demonise Afghan nationals as so-called criminals and terrorists.
“These opaque orders contradict the government’s own promises and repeated calls by human rights organizations to protect the rights of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers,” said Isabel Lacy, deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
“It is disingenuous to portray Afghan refugees as a threat to the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi,” she said.
Moniza Kakar, a human rights lawyer, told Amnesty International that forcing Afghan refugees to relocate, even within Pakistan, is devastating for families. “Many PoR cardholders are people who have been here for decades, asking them to move means you are asking them to leave their homes, jobs, communities and lives they have built over the years.
Meanwhile, Afghan Citizenship Card (ACC) holders are to be immediately and unlawfully deported to Afghanistan along with other asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in international human rights law. Afghan refugees who are to be resettled in a third country will also be moved outside cities and away from foreign missions that promised visas and travel documents, and will be at risk of deportation due to the increasing difficulty in coordinating their movements with missions such as the United States.
“The official declaration [for the March 31 deadline] was not issued under any specific law, it is just an executive order, it is not just against fundamental rights, it is against the simple black letter law,” said lawyer Omar Gilani, who has challenged the government’s decision to deport the refugees in the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court.
Separately, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that both returns and deportations of Afghans have significantly decreased in the first two weeks of March.
As recorded in the data collection period for March 1-15, this was a 67 percent decrease in returns and a 50 percent decrease in deportations compared to the previous reporting period of February 16-28./Dawn News
“The Pakistani government’s unyielding and cruel deadline, which is less than a week away, to remove Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from two major cities, resulting in the deportation of many at risk, shows little respect for international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement,” Amnesty says in a strong-worded statement.
The exact content of the Pakistan government’s ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ used for deportations has never been made public, but it comes amid a campaign to wrongfully demonise Afghan nationals as so-called criminals and terrorists.
“These opaque orders contradict the government’s own promises and repeated calls by human rights organizations to protect the rights of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers,” said Isabel Lacy, deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
“It is disingenuous to portray Afghan refugees as a threat to the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi,” she said.
Moniza Kakar, a human rights lawyer, told Amnesty International that forcing Afghan refugees to relocate, even within Pakistan, is devastating for families. “Many PoR cardholders are people who have been here for decades, asking them to move means you are asking them to leave their homes, jobs, communities and lives they have built over the years.
Meanwhile, Afghan Citizenship Card (ACC) holders are to be immediately and unlawfully deported to Afghanistan along with other asylum seekers and illegal immigrants, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement enshrined in international human rights law. Afghan refugees who are to be resettled in a third country will also be moved outside cities and away from foreign missions that promised visas and travel documents, and will be at risk of deportation due to the increasing difficulty in coordinating their movements with missions such as the United States.
“The official declaration [for the March 31 deadline] was not issued under any specific law, it is just an executive order, it is not just against fundamental rights, it is against the simple black letter law,” said lawyer Omar Gilani, who has challenged the government’s decision to deport the refugees in the Supreme Court and the Islamabad High Court.
Separately, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that both returns and deportations of Afghans have significantly decreased in the first two weeks of March.
As recorded in the data collection period for March 1-15, this was a 67 percent decrease in returns and a 50 percent decrease in deportations compared to the previous reporting period of February 16-28./Dawn News
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