1,698 Afghan refugees deported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

PESHAWAR: Pakistan has resumed deporting Afghan refugees with 1,698 holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs) deported from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, bringing the total number of deported Afghans to 484,975 since September 2023.

In addition, at least 3,268 undocumented Afghans were repatriated at the Torkham border crossing. Deportations of at least 3,053 Afghan refugees with ACCs occurred from April 1, 2025, until the present, including 160 from Islamabad, 1,980 from Punjab, and one from Gilgit-Baltistan.

The Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Ali Amin Gandapur, has stated that Afghan refugees will not be removed or thrown back at the border, necessitating a negotiation with Afghanistan and consent by the Afghan government before returning migrants.

Gandapur also noted that his government wouldn’t devolve any Afghan refugees back to Afghanistan, indicating a potential difference between the provincial and the federal government.

The deportations were initiated in October 2023 in the larger context of deporting foreign nationals without a valid visa or who have overstayed their visa.

The governmental rationale for these deportations regarding rising crime and violence, including suicide attacks, is contrasted with the observations of outside observers indicating possible political purposes such as requiring cooperation with a Taliban–led Afghanistan.