ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has reportedly stopped the expulsion of undocumented migrants from Afghanistan following discussions with the chief of the United Nations refugee agency, US media reported.
Filippo Grandi, the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees, wrapped up his three-day trip Tuesday and called for “a bolstering of efforts towards longer-term solutions” for Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
A post-trip UNHCR statement said, “Grandi lauded that the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ had been suspended and sought assurances that it would remain on hold.”
VOA cited a senior Pakistani official as saying that Pakistan had halted deportation of Afghan refugees. The official said that their message to Grandi was that the world should fulfill its responsibility for the upkeep and repatriation of Afghan refugees. He said that it is a shared responsibility and shouldn’t be left to Pakistan to lift the entire burden.
According to media reports, the decision to suspend the evictions of Afghan refugees was taken on “humanitarian grounds” due to deteriorating economic and humanitarian conditions facing impoverished, war-hit Afghanistan, said Pakistani and UN officials.
During his trip, Grandi met with Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif and other senior Pakistani officials, and discussed the affairs of the Afghan refugees.
Pakistani and U.N. officials said, around 1.3 million are officially declared refugees, about 900,000 hold Afghan citizenship cards, and the remainder are without legal documents, or their visas have expired while waiting to seek asylum in third nations after fleeing the August 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
During his stay in Pakistan, the UNHCR chief traveled to Afghan refugee localities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, including Peshawar.
“In the meantime, as Islamabad continues to host around 3 million Afghans, all solutions need to be explored in addition to voluntary repatriation, including third-country resettlement and longer-term solutions within Pakistan,” according to the UNHCR statement.
