Pakistan orders arrest of all Afghans without visas from July 10

Pakistan has issued a directive for the immediate arrest of all Afghan citizens found residing in the country without valid visas, effective July 10. This order escalates Islamabad's extensive campaign of deportations, which has intensified following recent militant attacks that Pakistani authorities claim involved Afghan nationals.

The Ministry of Interior's directive mandates provincial authorities to submit daily reports detailing the number of Afghan citizens apprehended without visas, the actions taken against them, and their current status. The order calls for strict enforcement of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), a deportation initiative initiated in October 2023. The IFRP initially urged undocumented foreigners, predominantly Afghans, to leave voluntarily or face deportation.

This latest government order follows a weekend attack on security forces in Karachi, which Pakistan states involved an attacker of Afghan nationality. Islamabad has accused Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a faction of the Pakistani Taliban, of orchestrating the attack and responded with airstrikes on alleged insurgent hideouts in Afghanistan. Pakistani authorities have long asserted that militants responsible for attacks on their soil operate from Afghan territory, with some Afghan citizens linked to security incidents, claims Kabul's Taliban government has repeatedly rejected.

Pakistan has hosted over four million Afghans since the Soviet invasion of 1979, making it one of the world's largest refugee-hosting nations for nearly five decades. Since the IFRP's inception, government figures indicate that more than two million Afghans have either returned to their country or been deported. The campaign has faced criticism from the United Nations and human rights organizations concerned about forced repatriations, though Pakistani authorities maintain the measures target only illegal residents and are essential for national security and immigration control.