The Pakistani government has prepared a plan to quietly relocate registered Afghan refugees residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi and repatriate them in phases. According to sources, the plan has been directed to be implemented without any formal announcement.
According to The Inquirer sources, the plan was finalized in meetings chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, one of which was attended by Army Chief General Syed Asim Munir.
Phase One: Immediate Evacuation:
According to the Sources, in the first phase, Afghans holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) will be immediately relocated from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and later sent back to Afghanistan along with illegal and unregistered Afghan refugees.
The Afghan Citizen Card is an identity document issued by NADRA to registered Afghans. According to the United Nations International Organization for Migration (IOM), this card provides temporary legal status to Afghans in Pakistan; however, the government determines its duration.
Second phase: Return of registered refugees:
According to the Sources, in the second phase, Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards will be evacuated from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, but they will not be immediately deported. According to sources, the federal cabinet has allowed Afghans holding PoRs to stay in Pakistan until June.
The total number of Afghans holding PoRs and ACCs in Pakistan is about 2 million, of which 1.3 million have PoRs and 700,000 have ACCs.
Third phase: Afghan refugees awaiting relocation to a third country:
Afghans who are awaiting relocation to a third country will be relocated from Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is in touch with international organizations and foreign embassies to ensure their relocation as soon as possible. If an Afghan refugee cannot be relocated to a third country, he will be sent back to Afghanistan.
 Criticism and legal challenges to forced evictions
Pakistan launched a campaign in 2023 to evict millions of Afghan refugees from across the country, under which 85,991 Afghan refugees have returned home since September 15, 2023, according to government data.
However, human rights activists and civil society criticized the forced evictions and filed a petition in the Supreme Court, which was heard on January 7. The Federal Government assured the court that registered Afghan refugees would be provided with legal protection and would not be arrested or deported. However, according to a recent report by the IOM, hundreds of Afghans have been arrested and detained in Islamabad in the last two weeks of December.
