Islamabad says more than 100,000 Afghans left Pakistan in April

AFP , Tuesday 22 Apr 2025

More than 100,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in the past three weeks, the interior ministry said Tuesday, after Islamabad announced the widespread cancellation of residence permits.

Pakistan-Afghanistan border
Trucks loaded with belongings of Afghan refugees waiting for their deportation to Afghanistan are parked outside a holding center near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border in Chaman. AFP

 

Calling Afghans "terrorists and criminals", the Pakistan government launched its mass eviction campaign on April 1.

Analysts say the expulsions are designed to pressure the neighbouring country's Taliban authorities, which Islamabad blames for fuelling a rise in border attacks.

The interior ministry told AFP that "100,529 Afghans have left in April".

Convoys of Afghan families have been heading to the border since the start of April when the deadline to leave expired, crossing into a country mired in a humanitarian crisis.

Afghanistan's prime minister Hasan Akhund on Saturday condemned the "unilateral measures" taken by its neighbour after Pakistan's foreign minister Ishaq Dar flew to Kabul for a day-long visit to discuss the returns.

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