Thousands of Afghan refugees cross border from Pakistan: IOM

Thousands of Afghans have crossed the border from Pakistan in recent days, the United Nations and Taliban officials said, as Islamabad ramped up pressure for them to return to their country of origin.

Earlier, tens of thousands of Afghan families settled in Pakistan for the last over four decades have started leaving for their homeland after the deadline for the Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders ended on March 31.

Eid Al Fitr had slowed the repatriation of the undocumented and ACC holders for a few days. Arrangements are being finalised at two camps established in Peshawar and Khyber district to facilitate the families returning via Torkham.

Families with their belongings in tow lined up at the key border crossings of Torkham in the north and Spin Boldak in the south, recalling similar scenes in 2023 when tens of thousands of Afghans fled deportation threats in Pakistan.

“In the last 2 days, 8,025 undocumented & ACC holders returned via Torkham & Spin Boldak crossings,” the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said in a post on social media platform X on Monday.

Taliban officials also said thousands of people had crossed the border, but at lower rates than the IOM reported.

Refugee ministry spokesman Abdul Mutalib Haqqani told AFP that 6,000-7,000 Afghans had returned since the start of April, warning that the numbers could increase in the coming days after the end of the holidays marking the end of Ramadan.

“We are urging Pakistan authorities not to deport them (Afghans) forcefully — there should be a proper mechanism with an agreement between both countries, and they must be returned with dignity,” he said.

The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having fled there over decades of war in their country and after the return of the Taliban to power in Kabul in 2021.

The repatriation had to begin on April 1 which coincided with Eid Al Fitr due to which the process slowed.

Police officials said no action has been taken against the Afghan families in any part of KP. Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghans for around five decades since the invasion of the USSR on Afghanistan in 1979. While hundreds of thousands of families have returned to their country in the last few years, over 2.1 million are still living in KP and other provinces.

The United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) has expressed its concerns regarding the process. “The UNHCR is concerned regarding the latest directive, as among the ACC holders, there may be individuals requiring international protection. In that light, we are urging the government to see their situation through a humanitarian lens,” UNHCR spokesman Qaiser Khan Afridi said.

The UN body also called for engagement between Pakistan and Afghanistan so the return can be dignified and voluntary. “It is imperative that returns are voluntary and dignified so that reintegration in Afghanistan is sustainable,” said Afridi.

A majority of the 2.1 million documented Afghans are settled in KP. Out of the 2.1 million, over 800,000 are ACC holders while around 1.3 million possess the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

The PoR holders were registered with the support of UNHCR in 2006 while ACC holders were documented in 2017 after the National Action Plan (NAP) was launched. As per the statistics over 709,000 Afghans are registered in different districts of KP. Among these, 344,000 are settled in 43 camps set up in different districts.

The data of all the ACC holder Afghans being collected through the concerned departments to facilitate them in their return.

The authorities concerned have been directed to treat the returning families with respect and care.

A large number of Afghan families have already planned their return to Afghanistan. Many have shut their shops and businesses and others are busy packing. There are hundreds of thousands of Afghans settled in Peshawar that hosts the highest number of Afghan nationals than any other district.

Thousands of Afghans are doing their own businesses. Majority of them are vendors, while others have been doing jobs in the city for the last many decades. They are living in many urban, suburban and rural areas along with the local populace.

Tariq Butt / Agence France-Presse