Hundreds of thousands of illegal Afghans in Pakistan face arrest and deportation when the government’s ultimatum for them to leave on their own expires Wednesday, November 1, sparking an exodus massive. Pakistan has given undocumented Afghan immigrants, whose number it estimates at 1.7 million, until Wednesday to leave voluntarily, otherwise they will be deported. In total, 29,000 migrants crossed the border on Tuesday through the various crossing points.

“Since November 1, the process of arresting and then deporting illegal aliens has begun. However, voluntary return (…) will also continue to be encouraged,” the Pakistani Interior Ministry announced in a press release.

More than 140,000 people have left Pakistan since the plan was announced in early October, he said. Islamabad says it targets all illegal immigrants, and not just Afghans, but the vast majority are, in fact, Afghans.

Rising anti-Afghan sentiment and uncertain future

Millions of Afghans have flocked to Pakistan during decades of war, including at least 600,000 since the Taliban returned to power in Kabul in August 2021, making it one of the countries hosting the most refugees in the world. Many are afraid of returning to Afghanistan, where the Taliban government has imposed its rigorous interpretation of Islam, for example prohibiting girls from accessing education after primary school.

The Pakistani government said it was seeking to preserve with this expulsion measure “the well-being and security” of the country, where hostility towards Afghans is on the rise against a backdrop of economic crisis and an increase in attacks at the border. But for some of these migrants, who have lived in Pakistan for decades or were born there, and know nothing about Afghanistan, the future in their new country is very uncertain.

Many people who have fled Afghanistan in the past two years and are seeking asylum in third countries but whose Pakistani visas have expired are at risk of deportation, Human Rights Watch has warned. The UN has estimated that they could be in danger upon their return. Taliban authorities, who have been pressing Islamabad to give people more time to leave, have been overwhelmed by this sudden influx of refugees, who are crossing the border with trucks filled to the brim with personal belongings, in total chaos.