The Pakistani newspaper Dawn reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province will begin deporting undocumented Afghan migrants today, Thursday, 3 April, according to a provincial official.
The forced deportation deadline, originally set for March 31, was extended by two days due to Eid al-Fitr.
An official from the Afghan Commissionerate in Peshawar city told Dawn on Thursday: “Phase 2 will commence from [Thursday], and we have set up camps, one each at Landi Kotal and Nasir Bagh Road.” The Afghan Commissionerate, a Pakistani government body tasked with managing Afghan refugees, confirmed the launch of this phase amid conflicting reports about whether deportations would proceed or if the deadline had been further delayed.
Pakistan previously mandated that undocumented Afghan migrants and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders voluntarily return to Afghanistan by 1 April. That deadline lapsed three days ago. While the Associated Press reported a 10-day extension due to Eid al-Fitr, Pakistani media over the past two days have indicated deportations are underway. Since September 2023, Pakistan has expelled nearly one million Afghan migrants.
UNHCR statistics show 1.52 million registered Afghan refugees and migrants remain in Pakistan, including roughly 800,000 ACC holders, alongside thousands of undocumented Afghans. The government plans to deport both groups in this phase, a move that has drawn sharp criticism from the Taliban, the United Nations, human rights organisations, and refugee advocates. Uncertainty persists over whether Pakistan will fully implement or delay this policy.
Additionally, the government has announced that Afghan migrants with UN-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards will face deportation after 30 June this year.
