By admin 
Living in Constant Fear
In Pakistan’s capital Islamabad and nearby Rawalpindi, many Afghan refugees are living in fear as deportations, arrests, and detentions surge. More than half of the estimated three million Afghans in Pakistan lack proper documentation, making them vulnerable to expulsion.
Ten-year-old Nabila, whose real name has been withheld for safety reasons, has been out of school since December, when institutions began rejecting Afghan students without a Pakistani birth certificate. She is terrified after learning that police have been actively searching for Afghan children, with some of her friends’ families already sent back to Afghanistan.
A Looming Deadline for Afghans
Pakistan has ramped up its Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan, returning 836,238 Afghans since September 2023. The UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 930 people were deported in the first two weeks of February, double the number from the previous fortnight.
The Pakistani government has set March 31 as the deadline for undocumented Afghans to leave the country, while those with resettlement letters have until June 30. Despite this, 20% of those deported had UN refugee documentation, meaning they were entitled to international protection.
Afghans Struggling to Survive
With no clear legal pathway, many Afghans are hiding. Hamid, a former Afghan military officer, fears returning to Afghanistan under Taliban rule. “I served my country, and now I am useless,” he says, breaking down in tears. His family is not on a resettlement list and is unable to secure visas. Calls to UN refugee agencies for help go unanswered.
Pakistan, which is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention, does not officially recognize Afghans as refugees, labeling them instead as illegal migrants. The Taliban government, meanwhile, insists that all Afghans should return, claiming they can live without fear. However, a 2023 UN report found that hundreds of former Afghan officials and military personnel have been killed, despite the Taliban’s supposed amnesty.
Deportations and Detentions Intensify
The fear of deportation is forcing Afghans to make drastic decisions. Some, like Ahmad, were on the verge of resettlement in the US, but delays have left them stranded. His three-year-old daughter called him in panic when police raided their home, pleading, “Baba, police is here.” His family was taken to the Haji camp detention center in Islamabad, where they endured harsh conditions before their release.
Human rights groups have expressed concerns over reports that detainees receive little food, inadequate shelter, and have their phones confiscated. However, Pakistani authorities insist that deportations are being conducted lawfully and that no one is mistreated.
Uncertain Futures
With limited options, many Afghan families are relocating to cheaper areas, such as Attock, 80km west of Islamabad. But even there, police raids persist. One woman, awaiting US resettlement, says she is struggling to afford even basic necessities.
At the gates of Haji camp, a woman pleads for her detained sister’s release. “If my country was safe, why would I come here? Even here, we cannot live peacefully.”
Her daughter, once a singer in Afghanistan, now lives in silence under Taliban restrictions that ban women from speaking publicly, let alone singing. When asked if she still sings, she stares blankly. “No.”
As Pakistan’s deportation campaign escalates, thousands of Afghans remain trapped between an uncertain present and a dangerous future.
Gill Bikram Singh