Pakistan will extend the stay of 16,000 Afghan nationals on humanitarian grounds, the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced. Pakistani officials said the decision is intended to support vulnerable groups, including women, children, and the elderly.
Tahir Andrabi, spokesperson for Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs, said at a press briefing on Thursday, July 30, that the move is part of Islamabad’s humanitarian approach toward individuals in urgent need of protection. According to him, the extension is aimed at easing the burden on vulnerable groups and addressing their humanitarian needs.
The Foreign Ministry spokesperson also said Pakistani authorities are simultaneously reviewing the cases of around 89,000 Afghan nationals under the country’s repatriation program for undocumented foreign nationals. He stressed that no Afghan citizen holding a valid visa or legal travel documents has been deported from Pakistan.
The announcement comes as Pakistan has been carrying out a large-scale deportation campaign targeting undocumented Afghan nationals since 2023. As a result of the policy, hundreds of thousands of Afghans have been forced to leave Pakistan and return to Afghanistan, a move that has drawn concern from human rights organizations and international agencies.
Meanwhile, thousands of Afghan nationals who fled to Pakistan because of threats from the Taliban remain in limbo while awaiting relocation to European countries and other resettlement destinations. Many of them have pending resettlement cases, humanitarian visa applications, or family reunification requests, but prolonged processing times and immigration restrictions have left them stranded for months, and in some cases, years.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the forced return of these individuals could expose them to the risk of arrest, persecution, or retaliatory actions by the Taliban. They have also noted that those facing deportation include women, children, people with medical conditions, civil society activists, journalists, and other vulnerable groups, warning that their removal could have serious humanitarian consequences.
Writer:Salima Aryaei
