https://twitter.com/home https://www.facebook.com/Shabbir.Hussain191By Shabbir Hussain
ISLAMABAD, April 8 (Alliance News): The process of mapping undocumented foreigners and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders is ongoing across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but no forced repatriations are being carried out, in line with Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur’s assurance that no Afghan national will be compelled to leave Pakistan.
Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) Operations Peshawar, Masood Ahmad Bangash, confirmed that authorities are assisting only those who are voluntarily choosing to return to Afghanistan. “Mapping is underway in different parts of the provincial capital,” he said.
While the federal government has initiated the repatriation of undocumented individuals and ACC holders after the March 31 deadline—particularly in Punjab, Sindh, and the federal capital—KP authorities have not yet received any directives to take action against ACC holders.
“Only those returning voluntarily are being helped by officials. No one is being forced,” said an official source.
Two temporary holding centers in Peshawar and Khyber are hosting families arriving from other provinces, from where they are facilitated onward to Afghanistan via Torkham border.
Emotional videos circulating on social media depict local residents bidding farewell to Afghan families who lived in Pakistan for decades, often forging strong community ties and even intermarrying with locals.
According to the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 2.1 million documented Afghans in Pakistan, with over 800,000 holding ACCs and 1.3 million possessing Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. The majority are settled in KP.
Despite no official push from KP’s provincial government, many Afghan families are choosing to return due to uncertainty about their future. A large number of them were born in Pakistan and have never visited Afghanistan.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the Soviet invasion of 1979. Although hundreds of thousands have returned over the years, government estimates suggest that over three million Afghans still reside in Pakistan, including undocumented individuals and those with Pakistani identity papers obtained through various means.
UNHCR has voiced concern about the recent federal directives. “Among the ACC holders, some may require international protection,” said UNHCR spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi, urging the government to adopt a humanitarian approach in dealing with Afghan residents.
