Pakistan warns it may expel thousands of Afghans hoping for resettlement in the West
A laborer loads belongings of Afghan refugees onto the roof of a bus as the refugees prepare to return to Afghanistan, at a terminal in Karachi, Pakistan, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Fareed Khan)
ISLAMABAD (AP) — Pakistan said Thursday that thousands of Afghan migrants who have applied for resettlement in third countries could face forced expulsion if they are not relocated by host nations before the end of April.
Deputy Interior Minister Talal Chaudhry did not mention specific host countries, but his announcement follows the suspension of U.S. refugee admissions programs that has left over 25,000 Afghan nationals facing uncertainty. Some of the Afghans also are trying to resettle in other Western countries, including the U.K.
Chaudhry said an April 30 deadline for resettlement of applicants has been communicated to potential host countries. He also said that any foreigners in the country illegally would be deported immediately, and that those who have obtained U.N. refugee status would be allowed to stay at least through June.
Many Afghans fled their country after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021, fearing reprisals. Some had worked with the U.S. military, international organizations, aid agencies, media outlets or human rights groups.
Thousands already have been relocated to the United States, with those who worked for the U.S. military given a priority by the U.S. government. Thousands more have been living in Pakistan while seeking relocation to the United States or other Western countries.
Chaudhry said thousands of Afghans have been sent back over the past week as part of expulsions that began in October 2023, when Pakistan launched a crackdown on foreigners living illegally in Pakistan. Since then, more than 850,000 Afghans had been repatriated.
He said an estimated 800,000 additional Afghan migrants are in the country illegally, and that 1.4 million are in Pakistan with U.N. refugee status.
Spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs told a news conference that the expulsions were not targeted specifically at Afghans and that any foreigners in the country illegally were being deported.
He also said Pakistan was engaged with U.N. agencies for the protection of people in vulnerable situations. “There is hardly any example of a country which has been more generous to refugees than Pakistan,” he said.