The Pakistani government’s plans to arbitrarily and forcibly expel Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers, as part of the opaque ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ will only add to their plight, Amnesty International said today, ahead of the authorities’ 31 March deadline to oust Afghan nationals from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The exact content of the Pakistan government’s ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ used for deportations has never been made public, but it comes amid a campaign to wrongfully demonize Afghan nationals as so-called criminals and terrorists.
“The Pakistani government’s unyielding and cruel deadline, which is less than a week away, to remove Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from two major cities, resulting in deportation of many at risk, shows little respect for international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement. The opaque executive orders contravene the government’s own promises and repeated calls by human rights organizations to uphold the rights of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers,” said Isabelle Lassée, deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
It is disingenuous to frame Afghan refugees as a menace to the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Government of Pakistan is only making a scapegoat of a community that has long been disenfranchised and fleeing persecution.
Isabelle Lassée, Deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International
“It is disingenuous to frame Afghan refugees as a menace to the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The Government of Pakistan is only making a scapegoat of a community that has long been disenfranchised and fleeing persecution.”
Risk of relocations and deportations
According to a government notification dated 29 January 2025, reviewed by Amnesty International, all Afghan nationals are required to leave the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi by 31 March —some due to be relocated to other cities within Pakistan and others to be deported back to Afghanistan.
Those holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, issued by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), are to be moved outside Islamabad and Rawalpindi by the deadline. Speaking to Amnesty, human rights lawyer Moniza Kakar pointed out that forcing Afghan refugees to relocate even within Pakistan is devastating for families. “Many PoR card holders are people who’ve been here for decades, asking them to relocate means you’re asking them to leave homes, businesses, communities and lives they’ve built for years,” she said.
Meanwhile, Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders are to be immediately and unlawfully deported to Afghanistan, along with other undocumented refugees and asylum seekers, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement as set out in international human rights law. Afghan refugees due to be resettled in a third country will also be moved outside the cities, far from foreign missions who had promised visas and travel documents, and risk deportation due to the increased difficulty in coordinating their relocation with missions such as the United States.
Lawyer Umer Gillani, who has challenged the government’s decision to deport refugees at the Supreme Court and Islamabad High Court, said that “the official notification [for the 31 March deadline] has not been issued under any particular law, it is just an executive instruction. This is not just against fundamental rights, but also against plain black letter law.”
Demonization campaign amid conflicting directives about Afghan refugees
While the government has largely failed to give any rationale for its hardline stance against Afghan refugees and those seeking asylum, calls for their deportation have been frequently accompanied by the portrayal of refugees as ‘traitors’, terrorists, drug peddlers, and criminals by Pakistani media. “A significant portion of those involved in criminal and terrorist activities are among these illegal immigrants,” said Pakistan’s then interim Prime Minister Anwaar-ul-Haq Kakar in November 2023. This signaling has been used as a pretext to impose restrictions on Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, leading to widespread discrimination and harassment, amongst numerous conflicting directives from government officials.
In January 2025, Minister of Interior, Moshin Naqvi, announced that no Afghan refugees would be allowed to stay in Islamabad without a no-objection certificate (NOC) – a notoriously difficult document to obtain. He gave no explanation for the legal basis of this requirement. Shortly afterwards, Amnesty International noted a surge in arbitrary detentions at the start of the year and 986 deportations were recorded in January by UN International Organization for Migration.
In another notification dated 7 March 2025, the Ministry of Interior again stepped-up pressure on Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, urging all “illegal foreigners” and ACC holders to “leave Pakistan voluntarily before 31 March 2025”. The notification was removed from the ministry’s website within hours, but a copy of the text was reproduced on the Joint Action Committee for Refugees (JAC-R) website which has also documented similar eviction notices beyond the capital’s twin cities.
In addition to these threats, Afghans living in Islamabad have also been subjected to racial profiling following statements by Pakistani officials, including the country’s interior minister, who have accused Afghan refugees of being involved in political unrest following protests by opposition party Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) on 26 November 2024 in Islamabad. These developments became a precursor to the March 31st deadline.
We call on the authorities to immediately withdraw the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ and take corrective action in accordance with international human rights law.
Isabelle Lassée, Deputy regional director for South Asia at Amnesty International
“The Pakistani authorities are violating the rights of Afghan refugees with impunity, subjecting them to arbitrary decisions that are shrouded in secrecy, totally lacking transparency and accountability. Carrying out this brazen plan of expelling Afghan refugees and asylum seekers who have long resided in these two cities, will undo the years of hard work that the Afghans have put in rebuilding their lives in Pakistan,” said Isabelle Lassée.
“We call on the authorities to immediately withdraw the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ and take corrective action in accordance with international human rights law.”
Further Background:
Between September 2023 and February 2025, Pakistan forcibly deported at least 844,499 Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan where they are at real risk of persecution by the Taliban and an ongoing economic crisis. Many of those facing forced return to Afghanistan, including journalists, human rights defenders, women protestors, artists, and former government officials are at imminent risk of persecution and repression by the Taliban if forced to return to Afghanistan.
In January 2025, the government assured the Supreme Court of Pakistan that all Afghan refugees who have been registered in “any way” would not be “apprehended” nor “deported”. Earlier this month, the Islamabad High Court directed authorities to cease all harassment of PoR card holders.
Header image: An Afghan migrant who was living in Iran as a refugee, sits near UNHCR center after being deported back to Afghanistan at the zero point between Afghanistan and Iran in Islam Qala in Herat province on February 23, 2025. Photo by MOHSEN KARIMI/AFP via Getty Images.
