ISLAMABAD: A Pakistani interior ministry official on Wednesday refuted claims by the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), which said authorities were arresting hundreds of Afghan Proof of Registration (PoR) cardholders and forcing them to leave the country despite agreeing to extend their stay till Sept. 1.
More than 1.3 million Afghans in Pakistan hold PoR documentation, while 750,000 more have another form of registration known as an Afghan Citizen Card. PoR cards were issued by Pakistan to Afghans who were registered in collaboration with the UNHCR, recognizing them as a legal refugees in Pakistan.
Many Afghans have been settled in Pakistan since the 1980s to escape cycles of war in Afghanistan. However, Pakistan’s government started a repatriation drive in 2023 to expel all those residing in the country illegally, mostly Afghans, after a spate of suicide attacks in the country that Islamabad blamed on Afghan nationals without proof.
The government agreed to extend the deadline for PoR cardholders to stay till Sept. 1. However, UNHCR Pakistan spokesperson Qaisar Khan Afridi told Arab News hundreds of PoR cardholders in Punjab, Balochistan and Islamabad were arrested from Aug. 1-5. He said dozens were still being held while many have been asked to leave by Aug. 20.
