KARACHI: On an ordinary double-carriage road on the outskirts of Karachi, the hum of traffic gives way each afternoon to the bustling chaos of a makeshift market. Refrigerators, washing machines, fans, wardrobes and other household items are offered at throwaway prices.
For their Afghan owners, the sale is a painful necessity — a distress liquidation forced by uncertainty over their future in Pakistan amid an ongoing deportation drive.
“All this household stuff is not just things,” Muhammad Khan, a 32-year-old Afghan refugee, said. “These were ... dreams we worked hard to fulfill. Now, we are being forced to sell them.”
Born to refugee parents in a neighborhood called Afghan Basti on the outskirts of the city, Khan, 32, is among nearly 30,000 residents set to leave for Afghanistan in the coming week.
Pakistan launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants, mostly Afghans, in 2023, when its administration ordered all foreign nationals without valid documents to leave or face deportation.
