ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has postponed a deadline for hundreds of thousands of Afghans to return to their country due to Eidul Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramazan, a government official said on Tuesday.
In early March, Islamabad announced a deadline of the end of the month for Afghans holding certain documentation to leave the country, ramping up a campaign to send Afghans back to their homeland. “The deadline has been extended until the beginning of next week due to Eid holidays,” the official said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorised to speak to the media.
Afghans holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) -- issued by Pakistan authorities and held by 800,000 people, according to the United Nations -- face deportation to Afghanistan after the deadline.
More than 1.3 million Afghans who hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, are also to be moved outside the capital Islamabad and neighbouring city Rawalpindi.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having fled there over decades of war in their country and after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan. “Many have been living in the country for years and going back means going back to nothing,” human rights lawyer Moniza Kakar told AFP.
The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force out them out. “We ask that instead of forced deportation, Afghans should be supported and provided with facilities,” he said in an Eid message the day before Pakistan’s original deadline.
Rights groups have condemned Pakistan’s campaign. Human Rights Watch slammed “abusive tactics” used to pressure Afghans to return to their country “where they risk persecution by the Taliban and face dire economic conditions”.