Responding to the announcement on Wednesday that the Government of Pakistan has agreed to a one-year extension to more than 1.45 million Afghan refugees who held UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards in the country, Thyagi Ruwanpathirana, Regional Researcher for South Asia, Amnesty International, said:
“The decision by the Pakistan government to extend the stay of PoR cards holders for another year is a welcome development. However, Amnesty International urges the Government of Pakistan to extend this lifeline to all Afghan refugees in Pakistan and formally suspend the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’. The uncertainty hanging over the future of more than 2.1 million Afghan refugees must end.
“The current measures still place Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and those who remain undocumented at risk of imminent forced return and continued harassment. The Pakistan authorities need no further reminder of the possible threats the refugees face, in particular women and girls, if forced to return to Afghanistan.
“We, once again, urge the Government of Pakistan to stop all forcible returns, in line with the principle of non-refoulement, ratify the 1951 Refugees Convention and its 1967 Protocol, and develop a national legal framework for asylum and other forms of international protection, as per international law. They must act on this immediately to rectify the precarious situation that the Afghan refugees find themselves in.”
Background
In October 2023, the Government of Pakistan announced the ‘Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan’. Since then, Amnesty International has documented a complete lack of transparency, due process and accountability in the detentions and unlawful forcible returns of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, which were exacerbated by increased harassment and hostility towards them. Since September 2023, the UNHCR reports over 639,000 Afghan refugees have left Pakistan to return to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
On 10 July, the Pakistan government announced a one-year extension to the validity of the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards of Afghan refugees. This will allow 1.45 million registered Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan until 30 June 2025, but still leaves the fate of 80,000 ACC holders and thousands of undocumented refugees hanging.
Amnesty International has repeatedly called on the Pakistan government to halt all forcible returns.
