ISLAMABAD:Pakistan has deported a total of 1,155,221 Afghan nationals during the previous year, 2025, top officials of the Ministry of Interior and Chief Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees said.

The repatriated Afghans include 163,429 proof of registration card holders, 74,943 Afghan citizen card holders, 509,671 undocumented individuals and 407,178 voluntary returnees.

The officials shared this data with the Senate Standing Committee on Kashmir Affairs, Gilgit-Baltistan and States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) in its meetingheld at Parliament Lodges here on Monday.

The committee was also informed that a total of 54 Afghan refugee camps currently exist across the country, including 43 in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 10 in Balochistan and one in Punjab.

Members sought clarification on how many Afghan nationals had entered Pakistan, how many were currently residing in the country and where they were living. The committee directed the ministries concernedto provide year-wise and district-wise data from 2005 to 2025. It was informed that the Ministry of Interior and Narcotics Control issued an SRO on July 31, 2025 declaring Afghan refugees holding proof of registration cards illegal and directing their immediate deportation.

Following a meeting held on Aug 4, 2025, a one-month grace period was granted for voluntary return until Sept 12025, after which deportations commenced. The briefing revealed that provincial governments were assigned the lead role in deportation in consultation with relevant stakeholders, including Commissionerates for Afghan Refugees.

The Chief Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees, with the support of provincial Afghan Commissionerates, Nadra and UNHCR, enhanced the capacity of existing Voluntary Repatriation Centers. It was further stated that 11 Nadra-established proof of card modification centres were converted into Voluntary Repatriation Centers to facilitate dignified return.

At these centres, Afghan nationals holding proof of registration cards were de-registered from Nadra’s ANR database and provided transportation facilities to border points along with their families. , to review key governance, humanitarian, environmental and security-related issues concerning Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Gilgit-Baltistan and the repatriation of Afghan refugees.

The meeting was chaired by Senator Asad Qasim and attended by Senator Nadeem Ahmed Bhutto, Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman, Senator Nasir Mehmood and Senator Atta-ul-Haq. The Committee also carried out a detailed review of the post-flood situation in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Additional Chief Secretary Gilgit-Baltistan Mushtaq Ahmed informed the Committee that screens and dashboards had been installed in Deputy Commissioner offices and that real-time data was now being received. The Committee was further briefed that 115 early warning systems were currently operational across Gilgit-Baltistan.

During the meeting, the Committee discussed the prevailing situation in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, including the recent unrest manifested through the demands of the Awami Action Committee, which members observed could pose challenges to national unity.

However, the discussion on this critical issue could not proceed due to the continued non-participation of the Chief Secretary of Azad Kashmir, who failed to attend the meeting for the second consecutive time. The Committee subsequently deferred this agenda with the direction thatChief Secretarywould ensure his participation in the next meeting.

Published in Dawn, February 3rd, 2026