Pakistan Expels Over 30,000 Afghans in 2 Weeks as Deportation Drive Accelerates

Tens of thousands of Afghan nationals have been deported through key border crossings in April as part of Pakistan’s renewed crackdown on undocumented migrants

[Islamabad] Pakistan has stepped up its mass deportation of Afghan nationals, expelling tens of thousands through major border crossings in April, in a campaign that Pakistani authorities say is necessary for national security but that critics warn could trigger a humanitarian crisis.

According to official figures, at least 33,258 Afghans were expelled through the Torkham border crossing between April 1 and April 14. The expulsions are part of the second phase of a broader crackdown on undocumented foreign nationals launched by Islamabad in November 2023.

On April 13 alone, some 2,758 Afghan nationals passed through a registration camp in Landi Kotal before being deported, while more than 7,000 were expelled the previous day. Radio Pakistan, the state broadcaster, reported that a total of 935,870 undocumented Afghans have left the country since the drive began.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry announced in late 2023 that, beginning November 1, it would begin deporting illegal immigrants in stages if they did not leave voluntarily. While framed as a national security measure against undocumented foreigners, the initiative has disproportionately affected Afghans, who make up the vast majority of those being expelled.

Islamabad maintains that some of the undocumented Afghans have been involved in terrorism and criminal activity, including attacks on security forces. State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry has stated there will be no extension for Afghan Citizen Card holders, whose legal status expired on March 31. “Our priority,” he said, “is the safety and stability of Pakistan. This is a matter of national interest, not compromise.”

The Afghan government has voiced alarm at the scope and speed of the expulsions. Prime Minister Mullah Mohammad Hassan Akhund convened a special cabinet session in Kabul on Monday to address the return of displaced citizens. Afghan authorities instructed the High Commission for Refugees to begin immediate distribution of land in provinces where plots had previously been designated for returnee housing.

The cabinet also directed subcommittees overseeing refugee settlement to accelerate efforts to provide shelter and basic services to returning families.

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies has described the pace of returns as “staggering and rapidly escalating.” The International Organization for Migration estimates that roughly 20,000 people a day are now crossing back into Afghanistan via Torkham and Spin Boldak.

Afghan acting Foreign Minister Amir Khan Muttaqi raised concerns over the expulsions during a meeting with Pakistan’s chargé d’affaires in Kabul, Ubaid Ur Rehman Nizamani. He expressed regret over reported abuses of returnees by Pakistani authorities and called for the two governments to address the matter through diplomatic channels.

Refugees interviewed by The Media Line described a climate of fear and uncertainty. Some said they were detained without notice, with their homes raided and women mistreated. Others reported being taken to holding facilities before being expelled.

We live under a constant shadow of fear. We no longer have a place to call home—in Pakistan, we are seen as Afghans, and in Afghanistan, we are perceived as Pakistanis.

“We live under a constant shadow of fear,” one Afghan refugee said. “We no longer have a place to call home—in Pakistan, we are seen as Afghans, and in Afghanistan, we are perceived as Pakistanis.”

Parvez Khan, a baker in Rawalpindi, told The Media Line that his family had lived in Pakistan for 45 years. “I was born here. My children were raised here. We’ve built our lives in this country—our roots, our memories, even the graves of our loved ones are in Pakistan,” he said.

We’ve never even been to Afghanistan. That land is completely foreign to us now. Everyone we once knew is gone. And now we’re being told to leave everything behind, to start over in a place that no longer knows us. No one abandons their home willingly.

“We’ve never even been to Afghanistan. That land is completely foreign to us now. Everyone we once knew is gone. And now we’re being told to leave everything behind, to start over in a place that no longer knows us. No one abandons their home willingly. I don’t know how we will survive.”

Pakistani officials say the country has hosted Afghan refugees for over four decades, often under difficult circumstances. Brig. Gen. (ret.) Haris Nawaz, a former caretaker homeland security minister and security analyst, told The Media Line that Pakistan’s hospitality was rooted in cultural and religious solidarity, especially with fellow Pashtuns.

“Unlike most countries, which confine refugees to camps, Pakistan allowed them to settle across the country,” Nawaz said. But over time, he added, “some Afghan nationals have engaged in serious criminal activities, including drug trafficking, street crimes, kidnappings for ransom, and sheltering terrorists from across the border.”

He accused some of using US weapons left behind in Afghanistan to carry out attacks on Pakistani forces. “These developments have placed immense economic, social, and security burdens on Pakistan. We’ve lost more than 80,000 lives in the war on terror and suffered economic losses exceeding $150 billion,” Nawaz said.

He also accused the Taliban-led Afghan government of violating the Doha Agreement by allowing groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Islamic State Khorasan Province, and Baloch separatists to operate from its territory.

“Instead of taking action, they’ve tolerated—and at times even supported—banned groups,” he said. The deportations, Nawaz argued, are a necessary and strategic response to growing internal threats.

Not everyone agrees. Sadiq Amini, a Washington-based foreign policy expert, called the deportations both a humanitarian disaster and a strategic blunder.

The ongoing forced repatriation of Afghan refugees is not only a humanitarian tragedy but also a strategic miscalculation for Pakistan

“The ongoing forced repatriation of Afghan refugees is not only a humanitarian tragedy but also a strategic miscalculation for Pakistan,” Amini told The Media Line. “Mass deportations won’t stop terrorism. The porous Durand Line still allows cross-border movement, and known militants won’t be deterred. Instead, the policy risks deepening resentment and aiding Taliban recruitment.”

He said any decisions must involve multilateral consultation with the United Nations and warned that targeting anti-Taliban voices while ignoring actual threats would only worsen instability.

Amini also criticized the Trump administration’s reported plans to revoke Temporary Protected Status for certain Afghans. He said deporting vulnerable Afghans, “especially women, who face grave threats under Taliban rule,” would contradict US commitments to human rights and send a dangerous message to allies.

Dr. Naim Asas, a Paris-based expert and director at the Group for International Studies and Reflections in Social Sciences, said the expulsions and the end of US protection programs together represent “a grave humanitarian crisis.”

“This sudden influx is likely to trigger tensions among ethnic groups, between returnees and local populations, and even within Taliban ranks,” Asas told The Media Line. “Extremist groups may exploit the resulting instability, poverty, and resentment to expand their recruitment networks.”

He added that the damage could spill beyond Afghanistan’s borders and warned that ending US protection sends the wrong message. “These expulsions constitute a betrayal of the values championed by American and NATO missions in Afghanistan. It signals that loyalty to Western missions is conditional and temporary.”

Professor Dr. Ashfaq Ahmed, who heads the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Sargodha, defended Pakistan’s approach, citing more than 1,000 terrorist incidents in 2024 alone.

“The growing cooperation between Kabul and Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan further intensified the crisis. Pakistan is being forced to take this step,” Ahmed said. “With the Taliban’s continued refusal to act against TTP leadership, Pakistan has become the world’s second-most affected country by terrorism.”

If President Trump can pursue an ‘America First’ policy, then Pakistan is equally justified in protecting its people

Ahmed added that while international actors are urging Islamabad to halt the deportations, Pakistan has the right to safeguard its national security. “If President Trump can pursue an ‘America First’ policy, then Pakistan is equally justified in protecting its people.”