When the Taliban stormed to power in Afghanistan in 2021, hundreds of thousands of at-risk Afghans fearing for their lives fled to neighboring Pakistan.Five years on, thousands remain in the South Asian country as they wait to be resettled to third countries, often living in hiding to evade deportation to their homeland.They include journalists, activists, and those who served in the ousted US-backed Afghan government and its security and intelligence services. Many of them fear reprisal from the Taliban, which has been accused of the extrajudicial killing and torture of former adversaries.Islamabad has forcibly deported hundreds of thousands of Afghans in recent years, while more than 2.6 million Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan since a mass expulsion campaign began in 2023, according to the UN.'I Evaded The Taliban'Among the tens of thousands of at-risk Afghans who remain in Pakistan is a former officer in the Afghan National Army.The 30-year-old said he has twice been arrested and deported by Pakistani police in the last two years. Each time, he has bribed Pakistan border police to let him reenter the country.Many Afghans in Pakistan are on expired visas and face major hurdles in renewing their documents. Few have rights in Pakistan, where they are unable to work, study, or even rent property.“It was sheer luck that I evaded the Taliban,” said the man, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons. He said the militant Islamist group often checks returning Afghans at the border to identify former combatants.