Afghan migrants voice concern as second round of expulsion from Pakistan draws closer

Kabul [Afghanistan], April 7 (ANI): As the second round of the expulsion of Afghan migrants from Pakistan draws closer, some of these migrants have voiced concern about their uncertain fate, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

A number of these migrants said that Pakistan’s government, by starting the new campaign, asked Afghan migrants, even those with legal documents, to travel back to Afghanistan at an earliest.

The Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations said that officials of the ministry have held talks with Pakistan’s deputy ambassador on setting up a joint mechanism to address the challenges of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, according to TOLO News report.

Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations spokesperson Abdul Mutalib Haqqani said that the deputy ambassador of Pakistan in this meeting denied creating a deadline for the expulsion of Afghan migrants from PakistanAbdul Mutalib Haqqani said, "It was requested from them that the issue of migrants is a common issue between Pakistan and Afghanistan, and based on this, work on a common mechanism should be done, and a committee should be established, and Afghan migrants should be gradually and honorably returned to their homeland."At the same time, some migrant rights activists have termed the Pakistan government’s action contrary to human rights conventions.

Speaking to TOLO News, Asefa Stanikzai, a migrant rights activist, said, "Pakistan is acting against human rights conventions and immigration rules, which is due to Pakistan’s interests in political and economic issues."Earlier, Amnesty International called for the immediate cancellation of the plan to expel Afghan migrants from Pakistan, stressing that this plan is contrary to international human rights laws and refugee laws.

Meanwhile, the Taliban’s acting minister of Refugees and Repatriation Affairs has urged Pakistan to resolve the Afghan migrants’ issue within the framework of bilateral understanding, Khaama Press reported.

Pakistan reportedly plans to begin the second phase of its expulsion of Afghan migrants from April 10 after having driven 5,35,000 of them out of the nation since November last year.

At a recent iftar event held at the Taliban-led Ministry of Foreign Affairs in Kabul, which was attended by ambassadors and representatives of various nations, Taliban-appointed Deputy PM Abdul Salam Hanafi said that over a million Afghan migrants had been forcibly and voluntarily removed from neighbouring countries, Khaama Press reported.

The first phase of expelling undocumented Afghan migrants from Pakistan began in November 2023, while the second phase, under the name of the ‘repatriation plan’ which also includes those holding citizenship cards, is set to start on April 10, according to TOLO News report.

Human rights organisations and the Taliban have criticised Pakistan’s action. However, the Pakistani government insisted that it was not directed at any one ethnic community. (ANI)