Pakistan’s strict ultimatum sparks exodus of Afghans ahead of deportation deadline

New Delhi: Thousands of Afghans residing in Pakistan rushed to the border on Tuesday as a looming midnight deadline approached for undocumented foreigners to vacate the country.

Pakistan has issued an ultimatum, stating that 1.7 million such individuals, mostly Afghans, must leave by November 1 or face arrest and deportation. For many refugees, this has stirred profound fear, as they fled Afghanistan following the Taliban's resurgence in 2021. Some have been in Pakistan for decades.

A recent report by Human Rights Watch (HRW) has shed light on the coercive tactics employed by the Pakistani government to compel Afghan asylum seekers without legal status to return to Afghanistan or face deportation by November 1.

This has left many Afghans, who were awaiting resettlement in countries like the United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Canada, in a precarious situation. HRW has appealed to these nations to expedite the resettlement process, especially for vulnerable groups such as women, girls, human rights activists, and journalists.

On the final day for voluntary departures, throngs of refugees flocked to the Afghanistan border, often crammed into trucks carrying their belongings. According to Pakistani authorities, nearly 200,000 Afghans had returned to their homeland by Monday, with an additional 20,000 making the journey to the border on the closing day. An alarming UN report revealed that eight out of ten departing refugees expressed fear of being arrested if they stayed.

These Afghan refugees, who had escaped Afghanistan when the Taliban regained control, now face the grim prospect of shattered dreams and livelihoods. However, Pakistan, grappling with its economic crisis, is growing impatient, with the Pakistani rupee experiencing its sharpest depreciation against the dollar since October 1998.

The calls by Pakistani officials for mass deportation have led to an increase in police abuse against Afghans, involving harassment, assault, and arbitrary detention, extortion according to HRW.

The decision to expel Afghan refugees has evoked strong reactions from Afghan politicians and global humanitarian organisations. However, Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister, Anwarul Haq Kakar, emphasizes that the deportations are by the law. He states that they encourage voluntary departures and carry out deportations based on legal provisions.

Nasser Ahmad Faiq, Chargé d'Affaires of Afghanistan's Permanent Mission to the United Nations, urgently called for action, asserting that Pakistan's actions are in violation of international human rights conventions. He implored international leaders and organizations to address the crisis, protect vulnerable lives, and prevent forced expulsions.

The deteriorating relationship between the two nations has been exacerbated by an increase in cross-border attacks, which Pakistan attributes to terrorists based in Afghanistan. 

The ruling Taliban in Afghanistan, despite earlier promises, has failed to grant women the right to work and study, imposing one of the harshest suppressions of women's rights in the world.

With the impending deadline, the UN's human rights office has urged Pakistani authorities to halt deportations to avert a potential human rights catastrophe.

Pakistan has taken in hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees during decades of conflict, with about 1.3 million Afghans registered as refugees and another 880,000 granted legal status.

However, the UN's estimates differ, suggesting that over two million undocumented Afghans reside in Pakistan, including at least 600,000 who arrived after the Taliban's return to power.