PESHAWAR: Afghanistan has urged Pakistan to stop forced deportation of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, says a statement issued by Afghan foreign ministry.

According to Bakhtar News Agency (BNA), Afghan Foreign Minister Mawlavi Amir Khan Muttaqi met Pakistan’s acting ambassador to Kabul, Obaidur Rehman Nizamani, to discuss key political and economic issues.

The statement said that Mr Muttaqi expressed concerns and disappointment over forced deportation of Afghan refugees and the mistreatment by certain Pakistani authorities, calling such behaviour provocative and harmful to bilateral relations. He urged for a change in the approach.

According to BNA, Mr Nizamani acknowledged the concerns and said that the issue would be shared with relevant authorities in Pakistan. Both sides also emphasised the importance of taking mutually constructive steps and encouraged high-level visits and dialogue to strengthen ties.

Over 19,000 refugees have left for homeland since April 1

More than five million Afghan refugees, both residing legally and illegally in Pakistan, have left the country since September 2023, according to official documents.

The document, a copy of which is available with Dawn, said that 1,358 Afghan nationals carrying Afghan Citizen Card and residing legally in Pakistan left for Afghanistan on Sunday. It said that of 1,358 Afghan nationals, 1,255 left the country voluntarily while 103 were deported.

The document also said that 1,976 Afghan nationals, who had been living in Pakistan without any documents, also left for Afghanistan on Sunday. It added that of 1,976, some 1,778 Afghan nationals left voluntarily while 198 were deported.

It said that a total of 19,058 ACC holders left Pakistan since April 1, when the second phase of reparation of Afghan nationals began after expiry of the deadline on March 31. It said that 11,939 ACC holders left voluntarily while 7,116 were deported.

The document said that so far, 504,681 Afghan nationals left for Afghanistan since September 2023, when the first phase for their repatriation was started. Of them 488,164 left voluntarily and 16,517 were deported.

Meanwhile, the director general of Rescue 1122, Shah Fahad visited Landi Kotal holding centre on Monday. He was briefed on the 1122 Rescue camp at the holding area, said a statement.

The district emergency officer, Engineer Shariq Riaz Khattak, informed the director general that 89 rescue services were provided to Afghan refugees including first aid and shifting the injured Afghan nationals to hospitals for further treatment besides provision of services to an Afghan woman, who gave birth to a baby girl.

“Rescue 1122 is performing as first responder during emergencies and government is providing all the resources to the department,” the statement quoted the director general Rescue 1122 as saying on the occasion.

Published in Dawn, April 15th, 2025