Pakistan has rejected calls from the United Nations to halt the deportation of Afghan nationals in the wake of Afghanistan’s deadliest earthquake in recent memory, insisting that decisions on who can remain in the country rest solely with Islamabad.
“This is our land and we decide who stays, AFP said quotin Foreign Ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan as saying on Friday, responding to UN appeals.
He added, “No other country has shown such generosity for over five decades. But those without proper documents must leave — that is a sovereign right, and any country would do the same.”
The remarks came after Pakistan resumed a large-scale drive to expel Afghans, launching a fresh phase of deportations on Monday, just hours after an earthquake killed more than 2,200 people in Afghanistan. Pakistani border authorities reported that roughly 20,000 Afghans were sent back this week, including thousands carrying UN-issued refugee cards.
International bodies have urged Islamabad to reconsider. On Tuesday, UN Special Rapporteur for human rights in Afghanistan, Richard Bennett, appealed to Pakistan to “at least suspend the planned expulsions” as a “gesture of compassion.” The following day, UN refugee chief Filippo Grandi echoed the plea, asking Pakistan to delay implementation of its “Plan for the repatriation of illegal aliens” in light of the humanitarian emergency.
Despite these requests, expulsions continued. On Thursday alone, 6,000 Afghans with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards crossed back into Afghanistan through the Torkham border in Nangarhar province — one of the areas hardest hit by the 6.0-magnitude quake that struck Sunday night, border officials said.
According to the World Health Organisation, some 270,000 Afghans recently deported from Pakistan had resettled in three provinces along the border — the same provinces now reeling from the disaster.
