Pakistan says more than 1 million Afghans have been expelled since 2023

# Pakistan says more than 1 million Afghans have been expelled since 2023

Pakistan’s interior minister has told lawmakers that more than one million Afghan nationals have been expelled from the country since November 2023, underscoring the scale of a deportation campaign that has accelerated in recent months.

Amu TV reported that Mohsin Naqvi made the claim in the National Assembly on Wednesday, saying Pakistan had removed more than one million Afghan nationals and that 1,002,230 undocumented Afghan migrants had been deported over the past six months.

The numbers point to one of the largest forced migration waves in the region in recent years. Pakistan has long hosted a major Afghan refugee population, but expulsions have intensified as relations with the Taliban-led government in Kabul have deteriorated and domestic security concerns have grown.

The report said the crackdown has now moved into a second phase. Pakistani authorities have confirmed they will not renew the Afghan Citizen Card, which had provided temporary legal status to many Afghans. It also said more than 1.37 million Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration cards had already returned to Afghanistan under a UNHCR programme since 2007.

The human consequences were a central part of the story. The International Organization for Migration said more than 128,000 Afghans were expelled between April 1 and May 12 alone, most of them forcibly. Human rights groups and returnees have accused Pakistani authorities of mistreatment during deportations, including confiscation of money, belongings and identity documents at the border.

That matters because the people being pushed back are returning to a country already facing deep economic distress and a worsening humanitarian crisis. Afghanistan’s weak job market, limited housing and strained public services make a sudden influx especially difficult to absorb.

The article also noted the broader strategic risk. Large-scale returns can destabilize Afghanistan further if the deportees arrive without shelter, family support or means of income. UN agencies have called for more international assistance to manage the burden.

Pakistan’s policy is likely to remain controversial because it sits at the intersection of migration control, internal security and regional diplomacy. Supporters argue the state is reasserting control over its borders. Critics see collective punishment and an approach that offloads a complex burden onto an already fragile neighbor.

The central new fact in the report is the scale: more than a million Afghans expelled in less than two years. That figure alone places Pakistan’s deportation campaign among the most sweeping of its kind in the region.