Visa Halted, Door-to-Door Raids Begin as Pakistan Intensifies Deportation of Refugees to Afghanistan

DIDPress: In a worrying move, Pakistani authorities have intensified the process of forced deportation of Afghanistan refugees.

According to news sources in Islamabad, on Friday, 25 July 2025, Pakistani police forces have begun house-to-house inspections in the D-17 area of Islamabad to arrest and deport Afghanistani refugees.

Reports indicate that the operation began around 11:30 am as police are arresting indiscriminately, even children, women, the elderly and the sick.

The Pakistani government has completely stopped the process of renewing their visas for about a month, say Afghanistan refugees.

Earlier, the visa extension period for Afghanistan citizens was reduced from six months to one month, but now even this one-month extension has been stopped;  A move that has caused a wave of concern and fear among tens of thousands of Afghanistan refugees in Pakistan.

As deportations intensify, the United Nations Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA) warned in a report on Thursday that returnees face arbitrary detention, torture, ill-treatment and death threats from the Taliban members upon entering Afghanistan.

UNAMA, citing interviews with 49 of the 2024 deportees, said groups such as former soldiers, journalists, civil society activists and women are at particular risk.

Despite the humanitarian and legal dimensions of the crisis, Pakistani authorities have so far failed to take a clear position.

Responding to recent rumors, Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Shafqat Ali Khan only said that the issue of extending the stay of registered Afghanistan refugees (which expired on June 30) has not yet been finalized.

Meanwhile, the Taliban caretaker government rejected UNAMA’s report, claiming that all returnees are covered by a “general amnesty decree.” However, based on the evidence on the ground, human rights organizations and civil society activists have found the claim to be untrue.

With continued security pressures, suspension of visa renewals, and forced deportations, the fate of thousands of Afghanistani refugees in Pakistan is in limbo. While many of them have fled the country in fear for their lives, they are now facing a renewed threat that could severely endanger their lives.