MONITORING (SW) – As the returns and deportations of Afghans decreased significantly in March, mainly due to the border closure, Amnesty International has called on Pakistan to withdraw the opaque ‘illegal foreigners’ repatriation plan targeting Afghan refugees.
In a statement issued on Wednesday, Amnesty, ahead of the March 31 deadline, said that the “arbitrarily and forcibly expelling Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers, will only add to their plight”.
“The Pakistani government’s unyielding and cruel deadline, which is less than a week away, to remove Afghan refugees and asylum seekers from two major cities, resulting in the deportation of many at risk, shows little respect for international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement,” Amnesty says in a strong-worded statement.
The exact content of the Pakistan government’s ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ used for deportations has never been made public, but it comes amid a campaign to wrongfully demonise Afghan nationals as so-called criminals and terrorists, reported Dawn.
Meanwhile, Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders are to be immediately and unlawfully deported to Afghanistan, along with other undocumented refugees and asylum seekers, in violation of the principle of non-refoulement as set out in international human rights law. Afghan refugees due to be resettled in a third country will also be moved outside the cities, far from foreign missions who had promised visas and travel documents, and risk deportation due to the increased difficulty in coordinating their relocation with missions such as the US.
