The repatriation process for Afghan refugees residing in Pakistan begins today as the deadline for voluntary returns expired on March 31.

The government had also requested details of Afghan students in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa before March 27 to update the foreign National Security Cell dashboard that tracks foreign nationals in the country.

This policy of exhibiting illegal immigrants is part of Pakistan’s broader security efforts in response to growing terrorist attacks attributed to groups operating from Afghan Earth.

So far, 878,972 Afghan refugees have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan, according to Radio Pakistan. However, the Human Rights Group Amnesty International has criticized Pakistan’s repatriation plan, which describes it as “opaque” and expresses concern that the deadline of March 31 would exacerbate the situation of refugees.

Pakistan currently hosts 2.1 million documented Afghan refugees, with many others living in the country without legal documentation. About 1.3 million of these refugees have received proof of registration cards, with more than half of them residing in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP).

Repatriation affects a large number of Afghans who have lived in Pakistan for decades, including many born in the country who have never lived in Afghanistan. Peshawar hosts the largest population of Afghan citizens, many of whom run businesses and work in the city.

By 2023, a deadline for unregistered foreigners led to the return of many Afghan nationals, and similar volunteer return camps have been set up for those who returned now.

Earlier this month, Taliban called Pakistan and Iran to implement a structured and gradual repatriation process for Afghan refugees and emphasized the need to avoid forced deportations and recognize the challenges that returned in Afghanistan face.