Pakistan Announces November 1 Deportation Deadline for Afghan Refugees

Numerous media outlets are reporting on Pakistan’s announcement of today as a deportation deadline for Afghan refugees. According to Time, “[t]he decision largely stands to impact the 1.7 million Afghan refugees who live in the country without documentation, though experts tell TIME that many Afghans with proper documentation have found themselves swept up in the enforcement as well.”

Human Rights Watch reports that “[t]he Pakistani government is using threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghan asylum seekers without legal status to return to Afghanistan or face deportation[.]” 

The UNHCR has issued a statement expressing “extreme[] alarm” and warning of a “grave risk of human rights violations.”

IE