The strain of hosting the world’s largest Afghan refugee population continues to weigh heavily on Pakistan’s socioeconomic landscape, especially as the country grapples with challenges in providing essential services and maintaining effective governance for its own citizens.
According to estimates from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Pakistan is currently home to approximately 3.5 million Afghan residents, with only 1.3 million of them officially registered as refugees through the proper authorities.
On Tuesday, the caretaker federal cabinet approved sending over 1.1 million Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan who are residing illegally in Pakistan.
The decision to this effect was taken by a meeting of the caretaker cabinet in the wake of mounting concerns over the involvement of some of these individuals in various illicit activities, including terrorism, currency smuggling, and the illegal trade of essential commodities such as sugar and fertilizer.
A significant majority of these unregistered migrants are concentrated in the border regions, with 53% in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and 24% in Balochistan. Nevertheless, substantial numbers can also be found in other provinces and areas, with even Azad Jammu and Kashmir hosting more than 4,500 illegal Afghan residents.
While the number of Afghan migrants had been decreasing for several years, the resurgence of the Taliban and their return to power in Afghanistan has led to a notable influx of new refugees into Pakistan. Since the fall of Kabul in August 2021, over 600,000 new Afghan refugees have crossed into Pakistan, whereas only 16,000 Afghans have returned to their home country during the same period.
Furthermore, as of the most recent assessment, less than 55% of the funding requirement set by the UN for registered Afghan refugees in 2023 has been met. This underscores the disproportionate burden placed on Pakistan in dealing with a crisis that was largely instigated by the actions of Western countries. Afghanistan suffered significant destabilization as a result of Soviet and U.S. involvement in the 1980s and, later, through the U.S.-led NATO coalition’s presence in the 21st century. Despite these actions, Pakistan has borne the brunt of the fallout.
Currently, several of these Western nations are reluctant to contribute to financing the Afghan government or supporting refugee relief efforts in Pakistan.
Their recent adoption of anti-refugee measures within their own borders, which have faced criticism from human rights groups and even their own legal systems, includes the practice of sending refugees to potentially hazardous third countries for detention and processing.
