Pakistani authorities have announced that more than 30,000 migrants from Afghanistan, who were living “illegally” in Quetta, have been deported in less than a month.
This development comes as the Pakistani government had given undocumented migrants a deadline of July 31 to leave the country. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has also received reports of arrests and deportations.
Roughly two weeks ago, officials issued fresh warnings to migrants from Afghanistan residing in the country’s southwest.
The Pakistani government has decided to deploy security forces to carry out the expulsions. On Sunday, a meeting chaired by Shahzeb Khan Kakar, Quetta’s Commissioner, was held with local officials to review the “ongoing operations against undocumented Afghan migrants.”
Authorities at the meeting stated that coordination between government agencies has been strengthened to accelerate the deportation process. Kakar emphasized that the deportations would be carried out “peacefully.”
Islamabad continues to label Afghan migrants as “terrorists and criminals,” but analysts say the expulsions are part of a pressure campaign against the Taliban to curb cross-border insurgency. Regardless of motive, the greatest burden falls on the vulnerable migrants themselves.
Since 2023, more than one million people have been returned from Pakistan to Afghanistan.
The renewed Pakistani crackdown comes amid similar deportations by Iran, further straining Afghanistan’s fragile infrastructure at a time when the Taliban lacks the capacity to manage the situation.
