The Interior Ministry of Pakistan has asked the Afghan nationals holding Afghan Citizen Cards to leave Pakistan by March 31st,2025.
The Afghan nationals will be deported from April 1st, the ministry said in a statement.
“The Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program (IFRP) has been implemented since November 1, 2023. In continuation of the government’s decision to repatriate all illegal foreigners, national leadership has now decided to also repatriate ACC holders,” the interior ministry said in an official handout.
“All illegal foreigners and ACC holders are advised to leave the country voluntarily before March 31, 2025; thereafter, deportation will commence from April 1, 2025,” the statement added.
Interior Ministry claims that sufficient time has already been given to these nationals for safe and dignified return to Afghanistan. “It is emphasised that no one will be maltreated during the repatriation process and arrangements for food and healthcare for returning foreigners have also been put in place.”
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“Pakistan has been a gracious host and continues to fulfill its commitments and obligations as a responsible state. It is reiterated that Individuals staying in Pakistan will have to fulfill all legal formalities and abide by Pakistan’s constitution,” it said.
Pakistan deported 80,000 Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan last year in 2023. According to an estimate, three million Afghans live in Pakistan.
Back in 2023, the caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti announced that the Pakistan government was intensifying its efforts to repatriate undocumented foreign nationals residing within the country. The government’s stance on this issue has taken a resolute turn as the deadline for voluntary repatriation approaches. Bugti revealed in a recent interview that after November 2023, the state will initiate a phased operation to expel aliens.
Over 20,000 illegal foreigners had voluntarily left Pakistan, indicating a measure of success in the government’s endeavor. Bugti emphasized that all provincial governments are actively involved in this operation, with committees established at divisional and district levels to oversee the process. Notably, the expulsion will occur in multiple phases, with individuals lacking valid travel documents facing deportation in the initial stage.