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New Delhi: Pakistan has announced that 1.45 million Afghan refugees legally residing in the country will be allowed to stay for another year. Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif's cabinet on Wednesday approved the extension. It applies to those holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, which had expired at the end of the previous month. However, Pakistan continues to evict undocumented migrants.
Since 2023, more than 600,000 Afghans have fled Pakistan after Islamabad ordered undocumented migrants to leave or face arrest. Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan have become strained over security concerns.
The extension until June 2025 provides some relief to Afghan refugees with PoR cards, which gives them legal certainty to remain in Pakistan. However, not all Afghan citizens in Pakistan possess such cards. Even those who have faced harassment and intimidation, Pakistan urged them to leave the country.
The announcement came just after a three-day visit by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Filippo Grandi. On Tuesday, the UNHCR appreciated the suspension of Pakistan's 'Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan.' However, Pakistani officials denied any suspension of the scheme. Foreign Office spokeswoman Mumtaz Zahra Baloch clarified that the plan remains active and is being implemented in an orderly and phased manner.
At the Torkham border crossing, Pakistan's busiest crossing with Afghanistan, officials have started seizing documents, including refugee registration cards, from departing Afghans.
Millions of Afghans have fled to Pakistan over the years. Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in August 2021, an estimated 600,000 Afghans have arrived in Pakistan. Islamabad has defended its eviction scheme, citing security concerns and economic challenges. Reports claimed that Pakistan is using the evictions to pressure Kabul over rising attacks in Pakistan's border regions.
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