Daily Times

Weeks after the federal government ordered “illegal foreigners” and Afghan Citizen Card holders in Pakistan to leave by March 31, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur strongly criticized the Centre’s policy, arguing that Afghan refugees should not be forcibly expelled.

“The Centre’s policy on Afghan refugees is flawed… Past approaches have violated human rights,” Gandapur stated during a press conference in Peshawar on Sunday.

Islamabad has previously attributed militant attacks and criminal activities to Afghan nationals, who make up the largest migrant group in the country.

Pakistan initiated its repatriation drive for foreign citizens, mostly Afghans, in 2023, initially targeting those without legal documentation. According to the United Nations, over 800,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan since the campaign began, while Pakistan continues to host approximately 2.8 million Afghan refugees, a population that grew over four decades of conflict in their homeland.

Currently, Pakistan is home to 2.1 million documented Afghan refugees, with hundreds of thousands more living in the country undocumented for decades.

Addressing journalists, CM Gandapur emphasized that Afghan refugees seeking Pakistani citizenship should be granted nationality. He expressed his opposition to their forced expulsion, stating, “There should be no issue if Afghans with no criminal record wish to stay in Pakistan… I have always advocated for legally compliant Afghans.”

Earlier, The News reported that Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hosts the largest Afghan refugee population in Pakistan, with Peshawar being home to the highest number. Thousands of Afghan refugees run businesses or work in the city, having lived in urban, suburban, and rural areas alongside locals for decades.