The process of mapping undocumented foreigners and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders is currently underway in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but no strict measures are being taken, following Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s assurance that no Afghan national will be forcibly repatriated, The News reported.
According to a police official, no action has been initiated against Afghan families in any part of the province. Those opting to return voluntarily are being assisted by the concerned authorities.
“Mapping is underway in different parts of the provincial capital,” Senior Superintendent of Police Operations Masood Ahmad Bangash told The News. The federal government had ordered the repatriation of undocumented and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holder foreigners after the March 31 deadline. The repatriation has begun from Punjab, Sindh, and the federal capital via Torkham.
Afghan families arriving from other provinces are being temporarily accommodated at two holding centers in Peshawar and Khyber before their repatriation to Afghanistan. However, police and administration in KP have not yet been ordered by the provincial government to take any action against ACC holders.
“We have been instructed by seniors that no one will be forced to leave. Only those who want to leave voluntarily are being repatriated,” said an official.
Numerous videos on social media depict locals giving emotional farewells to families voluntarily returning after decades of residing in Pakistan. Many Afghans who have stayed in Pakistan for approximately 45 years have developed close relationships with locals, and some have even married local individuals. Several cases involving such families are also pending in courts.
As per the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 2.1 million documented Afghans in Pakistan, with the majority settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of the 2.1 million, over 800,000 are ACC holders, while around 1.3 million possess Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.
Despite no action being underway in KP, many families who have spent over four decades in Pakistan are beginning to pack up for their homeland due to an uncertain future.
This includes tens of thousands who were born in Pakistan and have rarely visited their country in their entire lives. Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans for nearly five decades since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
While hundreds of thousands of families have returned to their country in recent years, over 2.1 million are still living in KP and other provinces. Some government departments estimate the number of Afghans in Pakistan to be over three million.
This figure does not include undocumented foreigners, as well as those who are said to have obtained Pakistani documents. The UNHCR has recently expressed its concerns regarding the process.
“The UNHCR is concerned regarding the latest directive, as among the Afghan Citizen Cardholders, there may be individuals requiring international protection. In that light, we are urging the government to see their situation through a humanitarian lens,” stated Qaiser Khan Afridi, the spokesman for the UNHCR.
