f we go back to Afghanistan, we will be killed there,” says Yousaf Khan Sadri, an Afghan journalist living in Islamabad, “…and if we stay here [in Pakistan], the authorities threaten to send us back.”

“Returning to Afghanistan means starvation for many because food is scarce there,” he says. “Women cannot study at universities. Intimidation and reprisals are the order of the day. So…,” he asks “where should we [Afghan refugees] go?”

Sadri says Pakistanis are hospitable people and he has found many friends he cherishes here. “It is at the state level that things become complex,” he says.

“I came here before 2021. I have documents to prove that,” says the journalist. “And I do not have a choice. Going back is dangerous for me,” he says.

In this, Sadri is not alone. Thousands of Afghan refugees are waiting in dread after the government announced plans to repatriate Afghan nationals.

Amongst them is Ferdous Faramarz’s wife. She is set to leave for Australia. However, it is not likely that she will be reunited any time soon with her husband, a prominent Afghan journalist who is stuck in Afghanistan and has been facing death threats since the Taliban takeover of 2021.

“It needs to be understood that there is no way out for the Afghan refugees,” says Sadri. “Some of the migrants try to reach Europe via Iran. Some of them post videos on how they made it out but those are only the success stories,” he points out, “…painting a rosy picture of the ordeal. What you don’t see is how inhumanely Afghan refugees are treated by the authorities for risking their lives to cross borders,” he says.

A woman singer in Rawalpindi agrees with Sadri. According to her, relocation is not possible because it will put many in danger. “My music teacher who used to teach at Kabul University has been killed. I could be killed if I went back,” she says.

Interior Minister Sarfaraz Bugti, announced on October 3, that the Afghan refugees “residing in Pakistan illegally” had till November 1 to leave the country.

According to journalist Zameer Haider, who is convinced that many Afghan citizens are involved in criminal activities, there are plans to deport them once the deadline passes. He says their properties will be seized.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees as well as the International Organisation for Migratnts have issued a joint statement urging the Pakistani authorities to continue their “protection of all vulnerable Afghans who have sought safety in the country and could be at imminent risk if forced to return.”

“A forced repatriation of Afghan citizens has the potential to result in severe human rights violations, including the separation of families and deportation of children,” reads a joint statement issued by the agencies.

“The UNHCR and the IOM appreciate Pakistan’s generous hospitality towards Afghan nationals for over four decades, despite challenges, and repeats the call for all returns to be voluntary, safe and dignified — without any pressure, to ensure protection for those seeking safety,” it says.

Nasir Akbar Khan, the inspector general of Islamabad police, tells The News on Sunday that the number of Afghan citizens living in Islamabad illegally is not very high. “Those who are [living illegally] will be treated in accordance with law,” he says. “Many of them are moving to the centres designated for them voluntarily,” he adds.

Dismissing media reports that settlements of Afghan refugees have been bulldozed by the police, he says, “There is no truth in such reports. It is just not our job to bulldoze places. Misinformation on the subject of repatriation needs to stop,” the police chief says.

“Anyone who commits a crime - an Afghan national or a Pakistani - will be treated the same,” he says. “International reports have declared Islamabad as the safest city in the country with crime rate declining sharply,” he says.

Jawad Baloch, spokesperson for Islamabad Police, tells TNS that about 1,500 Afghans were questioned in an operation against illegal immigrants in Islamabad. He says that more than 500 of them had no legal papers.

“They were booked under the Foreigners Act and presented at relevant legal forums,” says Baloch. “It must be clear that sheltering an illegal immigrant is a crime,” he says, adding that no untoward incident had taken place during the search operations.

“There is no room for forced eviction of a refugee in the modern world,” says UNHCR spokesman Qaiser Khan Afridi. “The job of the UNHCR begins when an Afghan citizen crosses into Pakistan and seeks refuge,” he says. “As long as they are in Afghanistanthey are considered internally displaced persons and our office in Afghanistan looks after them there.”

“Once the refugees are in Pakistan, they seek asylum and the UNHCR processes their cases. At the next stage, they are given the refugee status,” says Afridi.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan does not have specific laws on asylum or refuge-seeking. However, Pakistan is a signatory to several UN conventions and treaties that require it to have such laws. But they are not there. So the UNHCR has to fill this gap,” he says.

“Proof of Registration cards were issued to about two million Afghan refugees in Pakistan in 2006-7. About 1.3 million POF card holders are still in Pakistan. The rest have left the country,” he says.

“In 2017, after the attack on Army Public School in Peshawar, Afghan Citizen Cards were issued to about 900,000 refugees. These cards were issued under the National Action Plan,” says Afridi.

“In 2021, the Taliban took over most of Afghanistan. As a result, a new wave of refugees arrived in Pakistan. At least 700,000-800,000 refugees have come to Pakistan after 2021. However, the government is not willing to take in more refugees. So no cards or other documents confirming their status as refugees have been issued to these people,” he says.

“There is no room for such an ultimatum. Basically, it is unthinkable in the modern world for a government to ask someone facing a threat to life back home to leave the country. While Pakistan is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention, 1951, it is a signatory to many conventions that bars it from evicting asylum or refuge seekers,” says Afridi. He says the UNHCR hopes that Pakistani authorities will handle the situation with a humanitarian approach.

Opinions on the ground, however, differ.

Aasim Sajjad Akhtar, a professor of Pakistan studies at Quaid-i-Azam University, says that the distribution of resources is at heart core of the issue.

“Some people have resources and many others do not. Many people are forced to migrate to places where the resources are. At the same time, haves are not willing to share anything with have-nots.”

“This is the truth about Afghan refugees in Pakistan. It all started when Afghans were brought to the country to fight someone else’s war under misplaced notions of strategic depth and whatnot,” he says.

“Powerful people on both sides of the border benefited from this conflict while the weak were made scapegoats. There is a pattern there. The weak are sacrificed and the powerful thrive,” he says.

“Wealthy Afghans living in Pakistan will face no threat. They enjoy the backing of powerful Pakistanis in activities ranging from smuggling to land grab.”

“The weak and the poor on the other hand, will be hunted down and thrown out. This is not happening for the first time either.”

“Those rendered homeless will hate Pakistan. Hate begets hate. This is the essence of right-wing politics. Truth be told, Pakistan has adopted an ahistoric approach to the Afghan crisis. The sooner we understand that Afghanistan is not a province of Pakistan, the better,” he says.

Professor Manzoor Naazir, from the Department of International Relations at International Islamic University, Islamabad, believes that the situation in Afghanistan is “…not as dire as it was during the Zia era. There is peace over all and reports of violence are negligible. Hence, there is no justification for any Afghan to stay here. Besides, the rise in crime is directly linked with the presence of Afghans,” he says.

“Property prices and rents are rising as the Afghan migrants have money to burn. As a result, Pakistanis suffer in their own country,” adds the professor. “Iran is as much a neighbour as Afghanistan. Similar human rights conditions are reported from there. However, no Iranian citizen has sought refuge in Pakistan. So why should Afghans? They have to be evicted,” says Naazir.

The writer teaches development support communication at the International Islamic University, Islamabad.