Pakistan Set to Deport Over 1.3 Million Afghan Refugees in September, Sparking Global Concern

The government of Pakistan has announced plans to begin the mass expulsion of more than 1.3 million Afghan refugees starting September 1, 2025, marking the third wave of forced repatriations since last year.

This phase targets Afghans who hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, official documents issued by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), identifying them as legally recognized refugees.

According to Pakistani officials, the decision is final, despite growing international outcry and appeals from the UN and human rights groups urging the country to reconsider—especially for those at risk of persecution by the Taliban regime in Afghanistan.

“The government would go ahead with the plans to expel all Afghans,” said Awais Mujahid, a representative of Pakistan's refugee affairs agency.

Pakistan has already deported around 1.3 million unregistered and registered Afghan nationals in two previous waves that began in September 2023, creating significant humanitarian strain across the border in Afghanistan, a country still reeling from decades of war and economic instability.

The UN warns that the ongoing forced returns could worsen the humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan, where millions of people are already in need of aid and thousands may face danger under Taliban rule.

The Pakistani government argues that the presence of Afghan refugees has placed a heavy burden on its struggling economy, which has been hit hard by political instability, decades of armed conflict, and climate-related disasters. Authorities have also accused some refugees of being involved in crimes—a claim rights groups say is being used to justify mass deportations.

The majority of the Afghan refugee population in Pakistan lives in the border provinces of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, regions that have historically hosted displaced Afghans since the Soviet invasion in 1979 and more recently following the Taliban's return to power in 2021.

With just weeks until the planned deportation begins, global pressure continues to mount on Pakistan to pause the process, especially for refugees who have nowhere safe to return to.