KABUL: Taliban authorities urged Pakistan on Thursday not to make a unilateral decision on repatriating Afghan migrants, saying they shouldn’t be “harassed”, after reports Islamabad would renew an eviction campaign.

Meanwhile, Pakistan denied the perception that the policy on expulsion of foreigners illegally residing in Pakistan was Afghan specific.

Since the announcement of the policy last year, amidst heightened TTP violence that further frayed the ties between Islamabad and Kabul, nearly 527,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan.

There are no reports that the government is planning to expand what it calls ‘Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan’ to Pakistan-issued Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders after Eidul Fitr and subsequently to UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) card holders.

Asks Islamabad to not ‘harass’ its citizens; FO insists policy on expulsion of illegal foreigners not ‘Afghan specific’

At a weekly media briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stayed short of confirming this, saying “several measures are under consideration and debate”.

“The issue of refugees is bilateral and decisions regarding them should be made through an understanding between both countries,” said Abdul Rahman Rashed, according to a ministry statement on social media platform X on Thursday.

“They shouldn’t be harassed until a joint mechanism is reached.”

Visa relaxation

Commenting on the reported relaxation of visa requirement for truckers involved in Pak-Afghan transit trade, FO spokesperson Baloch said there was no change in Pakistan’s position with respect to the one-document regime, which was still intact and the two sides had during Commerce Secretary Khurram Agha’s visit to Kabul agreed on a transition period for full implementation of the regime.

More than half a million Afghans fled Pakistan last year after the former government ordered undocumented migrants to leave or face arrest as Islamabad-Kabul relations soured over security.

Islamabad initially set a November 2023 deadline but official sources, who asked not to be identified, told AFP in March that Pakistan is gathering data on Afghan migrants ahead of a renewed push slated to start after Ramazan.

A final decision has not been made on a repatriation push, according to Pakistan officials, but the Afghan deputy minister for refugees urged restraint in a meeting with a top Pakistani diplomat in Kabul.

The Taliban authorities have urged Afghans to return home since taking power in 2021, but they also have condemned Pakistan’s actions, saying nationals are being punished for tensions between Islamabad and Kabul, and have called for people to be given more time to leave.

Millions of Afghans have poured into Pakistan over the decades, fleeing successive conflicts and political upheaval.

Published in Dawn, April 5th, 2024