Kabul asks Pakistan to reconsider eviction of Afghan refugees

ISLAMABAD

Afghanistan on Friday asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision to evict Afghan refugees.

Afghan second Deputy Prime Minister Abdul Salam Hanafi met with Obaid ur Rehman Nizamani, the charge d'affaires of Pakistan in Afghanistan, and discussed the recent tension between Kabul and Islamabad.

“Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi said that Afghanistan and Pakistan are two neighboring Muslim countries, and good relations between them are beneficial to both countries,” according to an official statement on X.

Hanafi added that the Afghan interim administration wants good relations and positive interaction with all neighboring countries and asked the Pakistani envoy to reconsider the decision to expel Afghan refugees.

“Such decisions have a negative impact on public opinion and cause a gap between both nations,” Hanafi said.

Earlier this month, Pakistan gave a one-month deadline to all the "illegal immigrants" to leave the country by Nov. 1.

Balochistan's caretaker Information Minister Jan Achakzai warned that the government will confiscate the properties and businesses of undocumented foreigners who would not leave the country by Nov. 1.

Pakistan has been hosting a large number of Afghan refugees since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, with nearly 2.9 million still living in the country.

According to a report by the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) of Pakistan, which deals with Afghan refugees, more than 1.3 million Afghan refugees have Proof of Registration (PoR) cards while over 800,000 have Afghan Citizen Cards (ACCs).

The report said, however, that 700,000 Afghans are living in the country without any documents.