ISLAMABAD: The UN refugee chief has appealed to Pakistan to pause its mass expulsions of Afghan refugees in the wake of a devastating earthquake that killed nearly 1,500 people in eastern Afghanistan.
“Given the circumstances, I appeal to the Government of Pakistan to pause the implementation of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said on X, warning that Afghans forced to return were “going back to a disaster zone”.
His call came as rescue workers struggled to reach survivors after a shallow, magnitude-6.0 quake struck the mountainous region bordering Pakistan late Sunday, collapsing mud-brick homes as families slept. Taliban authorities said at least 1,469 people were killed, over 3,700 injured and more than 500,000 affected, making it one of Afghanistan’s deadliest quakes in decades.
Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees for more than four decades, from the Soviet invasion of 1979 to the Taliban’s return to power in 2021. While some refugees have been born and raised in Pakistan, others have awaited relocation to third countries, with varying levels of access to work and education.
Islamabad, however, citing a surge in militant violence, launched a nationwide crackdown in 2023 to evict Afghans, describing the population as “terrorists and criminals”. The UN says more than 1.2 million Afghans have since returned, including over 443,000 this year alone.
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Most recently, the government targeted 1.3 million refugees holding UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, setting a Sept 1 deadline for them to leave voluntarily or face arrest and deportation. UNHCR spokesman Babar Baloch told reporters in Geneva the agency was “preparing for significantly more returns in the coming days” after the deadline.
Border officials reported sharp rises in departures. At the Chaman crossing, more than 4,000 people have left in recent days, while Afghan officials in Spin Boldak said 250 to 300 families are arriving daily. At Torkham, more than 6,300 PoR holders crossed on Tuesday alone, with nearly 63,000 recorded since April.
Analysts say the expulsions are aimed at pressuring the Taliban administration, which Pakistan accuses of harbouring militants behind escalating cross-border attacks. The Taliban rejects the allegation.
Grandi stressed that international aid, including from Pakistan, remained “vital and welcome” as Afghanistan confronts the humanitarian impact of the earthquake.
