As Pakistan prepares to expel Afghan immigrants over the fresh wave of violence it suffered last week, rights groups urged the South Asian country to reconsider what could potentially be a devastating policy for refugees fleeing the Taliban.
Islamabad blamed Afghanistan-based operatives for the twin suicide blasts that killed at least 50 people on Sept. 29 while they were in places of worship, according to
BBC News.
The Taliban
urged Islamabad to reconsider its decision to evict Afghan refugees and denied that the displaced people were involved in the host country’s security problems.
More than 1.7 million undocumented Afghans will be affected by this new measure
declared by Pakistani Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti as they must have to leave the country by Nov. 1.
"A forced return to Afghanistan could put them at grave risk," Amnesty International interim South Asia deputy director Nadia Rahman said in a
statement on Oct. 4. "We urge Pakistan to continue its historic support for Afghan refugees by enabling them to live with dignity and free from the fear of deportation to Afghanistan where they face persecution by the Taliban," Rahman said.
Since the Taliban swept back into power in Kabul in 2021, at least 3.7 million Afghans have fled to Pakistan, where they were also
subjected to arbitrary detentions, arrests, and the threat of deportation. Only 1.4 million Afghan refugees have proof of registration cards, which grant them temporary legal status and freedom of movement in Pakistan. The rest are left with minimal protection from arrest and deportation, according to
Refugees International.
The U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has issued a
non-return advisory for Afghans immigrants outside of their home country and calls on states to suspend their forcible return to their homeland.
Bugti claimed that 14 out of the 24 suicide bombings that have rocked Pakistan this year
were carried out by Afghan nationals.No one has yet claimed responsibility for the recent twin bombings, but police suspect the militant
Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TPP) was behind the suicide bombings. The TPP revived its extremist activities in the country following full-fledged military operations in 2014 and 2017.
Since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Kabul in 2021, TPP has tried to replicate such success in Islamabad, with
analysts saying it has the potential to become the “single largest Islamist affiliate with the capacity to challenge Pakistani military establishments.”