ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is set to start the second phase of the plan to repatriate undocumented Afghan nationals back to their country.
During the second phase of the repatriation drive, authorities are expected to deport over 800,000 Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan, following the initial expulsion of approximately 541,000 Afghans in November last year. The Pakistani government previously estimated that out of nearly 4.4 million Afghan nationals in the country, around 1.73 million were undocumented.
Pakistani authorities have decided to proceed with the deportation drive to address national security and economic challenges exacerbated by hosting a large Afghan refugee population.
The move comes against a backdrop of increased armed attacks within Pakistan, in which groups operating from Afghanistan were found involved.
Philippa Candler, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad, has urged Pakistan to consider the profiles of the undocumented Afghans before expulsion.
