• Only those who choose to return voluntarily are repatriated.
• Afghan families host two team centers in KP.
• Per. UNHCR is 2.1 million documented Afghans in Pakistan.

Peshawar: The process of mapping undocumented foreigners and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) Holders is currently underway in different parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but no strict measures are taken after Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s Insurance that no Afghan National The news reported.

According to a police officer, no action has been started against Afghan families in any part of the province. Those who choose to return voluntarily are assisted by the authorities concerned.

“Mapping is underway in different parts of the provincial capital,” Senior Superintendent of Police Operations Masood Ahmad Bangash told The news. The federal government had ordered the repatriation of undocumented and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) Proprietors after the deadline on March 31. The repatriation has begun from Punjab, Sindh and the federal capital via Torkham.

The Afghan families who come from other provinces are temporarily hosted at two team centers in Peshawar and Khyber before their return to Afghanistan. However, police and administration in KP have not been ordered by the provincial government so far to take any action against the ACC holders.

“We have been instructed by seniors that no one will be forced to leave. Only those who want to leave voluntarily will be repatriated,” an official said.

There are countless videos on social media where families who are voluntarily returning after decades of stay in Pakistan received an emotional goodbye from the locals. Many of the Afghans staying in Pakistan for about 45 years have developed close connections with the locals, and some have even tied the knot to the locals. Several cases of such families are also in the courts.

According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 2.1 million documented Afghans in Pakistan, and most of them have decided in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Out of the 2.1 million are over 800,000 ACC holders, while approx. 1.3 million possess the proof of registration card (por).

Despite the fact that there is no action in KP, many families have started packing together for their homeland due to an uncertain future after spending over four decades in Pakistan.

They include tens of thousands of those born in Pakistan and have hardly visited their country throughout their lives. Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghans for almost five decades since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

While hundreds of thousands of families have returned to their country in the last few years, over 2.1 million still live in KP and other provinces. Some government departments have set the number of Afghans in Pakistan over three million.

These do not include the undocumented foreigners as well as those who are said to have obtained Pakistani documents. The UNHCR has recently expressed its concerns about the process.

“UNHCR is concerned about the latest directive, such as among the Afghan citizen card holders, there may be individuals who require international protection. In that light, we urge the government to see their situation through a humanitarian lens,” said Qaiser Khan Afridi, the UNHCR spokesman.