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Photos: Dozens of Afghans deported by Pakistan authorities

The crackdown on undocumented migrants mostly affecting some two million Afghans living in Pakistan without papers.

Afghan refugees climb a truck as they prepare to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre in Landi Kotal.
Afghan refugees climb a truck as they prepare to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre in Landi Kotal. [Farooq Naeem/AFP]
Published On 1 Nov 2023

Pakistani security forces have launched sweeps to arrest and deport Afghans who are in the country without papers, sending dozens back after a government-set deadline for them to leave expired.

The crackdown on undocumented migrants is mostly affecting some two million Afghans living in Pakistan without papers, though the government says it targets all undocumented or unregistered foreigners.

The campaign has drawn widespread criticism from United Nations agencies, rights groups and the Taliban-led administration in Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s interior minister said 64 Afghans were rounded up, detained and deported on Wednesday.

“Today, we said goodbye to 64 Afghan nationals as they began their journey back home,” Interim Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “This action is a testament to Pakistan’s determination to repatriate any individuals residing in the country without proper documentation.”

Thousands of refugees had crammed into trucks and buses on Tuesday and headed to the two key border crossings to return home to avoid arrest and forced deportation.

According to the UN agencies, there are more than two million undocumented Afghans in Pakistan, at least 600,000 of whom fled after the Taliban takeover in 2021.

Relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban-led administration have become strained over the past two years because of stepped-up attacks by the Pakistani Taliban, a separate militant group that is allied with the Afghan Taliban.

Afghans wait for clearance to depart for their homeland at a deportation camp set up by authorities to facilitate illegal immigrants, in Chaman, a town on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Hundreds of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan faced detention and deportation on November 1, as a government deadline for them to leave sparked a mass exodus. [Habibullah Achakzai/AP Photo]
An Afghan refugee man carries a child as he prepares to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre in Landi Kotal.
An Afghan refugee man carries a child as he prepares to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre in Landi Kotal, Pakistan. [Farooq Naeem/AFP]
An Afghan refugee girl gestures as she prepares to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre, in Landi Kotal.
An Afghan refugee girl gestures as she prepares to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre, in Landi Kotal, Pakistan. [Farooq Naeem / AFP]
Afghan refugees arrive at a holding centre before their departure to Afghanistan near Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman. [Abdul Basit / AFP]
Afghan refugees arrive at a holding centre before their departure to Afghanistan near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman on November 1, 2023. [Abdul Basit / AFP]
An Afghan boy gestures as he stands beside his family's belongings retrieved from their damage mud homes demolished by authorities during a crackdown against an illegal settlement and immigrants, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.
An Afghan boy gestures as he stands beside his family's belongings retrieved from their damaged mud homes, which were demolished by authorities during a crackdown against an illegal settlement and immigrants, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. [Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]
Afghan refugees gather around National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) vans for biometric verifications as they prepare to depart for Afghanistan, at a holding centre in Landi Kotal.
Afghan refugees gather around National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) vans for biometric verifications. [Farooq Naeem/AFP]
Afghans load their belongings in a vehicle after retrieving them from their damaged mud homes demolished by authorities during a crackdown against an illegal settlement and immigrants, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.
Afghans on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan load their belongings in a vehicle after retrieving them from their homes, which were damaged in a crackdown on illegal settlement. [Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]
An Afghan family rests over the rubble as others retrieve useful stuff from their damage mud homes demolished by authorities during a crackdown against an illegal settlement and immigrants, on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan.
An Afghan family rests on the rubble after the demolition of Afghans' homes by authorities on the outskirts of Islamabad, Pakistan. [Anjum Naveed/AP Photo]
Afghans children play beside their tent as they with others wait for clearance to depart for their homeland at a deportation camp set up by authorities to facilitate illegal immigrants, in Chaman, a town on the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Afghan children play beside their tent as they wait near the border for clearance to depart for their homeland at a deportation camp set up by authorities to facilitate undocumented immigrants, in Chaman, Pakistan. [Habibullah Achakzai/AP Photo]