UN High Commissioner Calls for Halt to Forced Deportations of Afghan Refugees from Pakistan
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has expressed concern over Pakistan’s recent decision to forcibly return Afghan citizens and refugees, especially women and girls, back to Afghanistan.
At the agency’s annual executive committee meeting, Philippa Kandler, the UNHCR representative in Pakistan, warned that the hasty expulsion of tens of thousands of Afghan refugees who have lived in Pakistan for decades will have serious negative consequences on their lives, livelihoods, and reintegration process in Afghanistan.
Kandler emphasized that many of these individuals have established their way of life in Pakistan, and their forced and sudden return could bring further hardship. She urged Pakistan to manage the repatriation process gradually and in an orderly manner.
The agency has called on the Pakistani government to reconsider this decision and to make exceptions for individuals needing international protection, particularly women and children, exempting them from forced deportation.
These concerns arise amid ongoing reports that the Taliban administration in Afghanistan has not created a safe and suitable environment for the return of refugees due to its harsh policies against women, girls, and ethnic and religious minorities. Human rights organizations have repeatedly warned that the forced return of Afghans to the country puts them at serious risk.
