549,054 Afghans left Pakistan in 2016

LAHORE: Archival research conducted by the Jang Group and Geo Television Network reveals that 549,054 registered and undocumented Afghan immigrants left Pakistan in 2016. Among them, 210,998 were undocumented Afghan migrants, while 338,056 were registered refugees. 

According to a November 15, 2016 report by CNN, even before the fixed deadline, a substantial number of undocumented migrants and refugees had returned to Afghanistan, with figures notably increasing in recent months, as reported by the “International Organisation for Migration.”

Additionally, hundreds of thousands of registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan were facing a March 31, 2017 deadline to leave, and the UNHCR noted that 338,056 registered Afghan refugees had returned during the year— a significant increase compared to the same period in 2015. Regarding the recent November 1, 2023, deadline for the voluntary departure of all “undocumented” refugees and migrants, the majority of the 140,000 undocumented immigrants leaving Pakistan are Afghans. Official sources indicate that over 126,000 Afghans had crossed the Pakistani border into their homeland by Wednesday evening, with Samaa TV reporting that 104,481 Afghans had been repatriated by October 31 night.

According to unnamed Pakistani officials, the BBC recently reported that following the Taliban resurgence in 2021, approximately 600,000 to 800,000 Afghans had moved into Pakistan. The report highlighted that Pakistan hosts over four million Afghan migrants and refugees, of whom around 1.7 million are undocumented. Thousands of Afghans who had resided in Pakistan for decades expressed concerns about returning to Afghanistan, saying they had nothing to go back to, while others admitted their fears about returning. According to the United Nations, Afghan refugees represent the third-largest displaced population globally, following Syrian and Ukrainian refugees. In 2023, approximately 8.2 million Afghans were hosted across 103 different countries, with a vast majority residing in Pakistan and Iran. It’s important to note that the American administration under President Joe Biden had announced in the previous year that, as of October 1, 2022, Afghan nationals would no longer be eligible to enter the United States under the Humanitarian Parole policy. Research indicates that around 90% of the approximately 86,000 Afghans have been resettled through the parole process since August 2021.