The Afghan refugee situation in Pakistan has entered one of its most critical and painful phases in recent history. For more than four decades, Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans who fled war, foreign invasion, political instability, and economic collapse in their homeland. These refugees built lives across Pakistan’s cities and villages, working as laborers, shopkeepers, teachers, and small traders. Many children were born and raised in Pakistan and have never seen Afghanistan. Yet today, these same communities are facing forced deportation under government policies that disregard their deep social roots, humanitarian vulnerabilities, and the catastrophic conditions awaiting them across the border.
Since late 2023, the Government of Pakistan has implemented a nationwide campaign commonly referred to as the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, targeting undocumented Afghans and later extending pressure to Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and other vulnerable groups. Police raids, arrests, evictions, and intimidation have become widespread, particularly in Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Karachi, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Families report being detained without due process, forced to leave their homes overnight, and pressured to sell belongings at extremely low prices. Human rights organizations and refugee advocates have documented cases of harassment, arbitrary detention, and collective punishment, creating an atmosphere of fear among Afghan communities.
The timing of these forced returns has dramatically worsened the crisis. Afghanistan is facing one of the harshest winters in recent years, particularly in mountainous and northern regions where temperatures fall far below freezing. For returnees, winter is not merely a season—it is a life-threatening reality. Most deported families have no homes to return to. Years of displacement, conflict, and economic collapse have left them landless and homeless. Temporary shelters in border areas are overcrowded and insufficient, while humanitarian aid remains critically underfunded.
Afghanistan’s current conditions offer little capacity to absorb such large numbers of returnees. The country is already grappling with widespread poverty, unemployment, food insecurity, and a collapsed public service system. Millions of Afghans depend on humanitarian assistance for basic survival, yet aid funding has steadily declined. Health facilities lack medicine, schools are closed or inaccessible—especially for girls—and employment opportunities are extremely limited. In this context, mass deportations only deepen the humanitarian emergency and push families toward further displacement, hunger, and despair.
The situation is particularly dire for women and girls. Many deported families include women who were working in informal sectors in Pakistan or girls who were attending school. Upon return to Afghanistan, these opportunities vanish almost immediately. Restrictions on women’s education, employment, and freedom of movement mean that half the population is effectively excluded from rebuilding their lives. Women-headed households, widows, and female returnees without male guardians face heightened risks of exploitation, early marriage, domestic violence, and extreme poverty.
Children are among the most affected victims of forced deportation. Many have experienced repeated displacement, psychological trauma, and disruption of education. Arriving in Afghanistan during winter, children are exposed to cold weather without adequate clothing, heating, or nutrition. Malnutrition rates among children are already alarmingly high, and returnee families often struggle to provide even one meal a day. Without immediate support, an entire generation risks long-term physical and psychological harm.
Despite repeated calls from the United Nations, international humanitarian organizations, and civil society groups, deportations have continued with little regard for humanitarian principles. Pakistan argues that its actions are based on security and legal concerns, yet international law emphasizes the principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits returning individuals to situations where their lives or freedoms are at risk. For many Afghan refugees, return under current conditions clearly constitutes such a risk.
The forced deportation crisis also exposes the broader failure of the international community. For years, global actors relied heavily on neighboring countries like Pakistan to host Afghan refugees, while resettlement opportunities, financial support, and long-term solutions remained inadequate. Now, as Pakistan pushes refugees out, Afghanistan is left to shoulder the burden alone—without resources, stability, or infrastructure. Humanitarian agencies warn that without urgent funding and coordinated response, the situation will deteriorate further, particularly through winter and into the coming year.
Beyond statistics and policy debates lies the human reality: families sleeping in tents under freezing temperatures, parents unable to feed their children, elderly people dying from cold and illness, and young people losing hope for the future. Many returnees express a deep sense of abandonment—by the country they lived in for decades and by the world that once promised protection.
Author:
Naser Khan Zazai
Researcher and Journalist
