Pakistan Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrives in Kabul amid ongoing deportations of Afghans

Pakistan foreign minister visits Kabul as deportations rise

Pakistan's Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar arrives at Kabul airport to visit Afghanistan after his country expelled more than 85,000 Afghans, mostly children, in just over two weeks reported news agency AFP.

Islamabad is carrying out a tough campaign to remove more than 800,000 Afghans by the end of April.

This includes individuals whose residence permits have been revoked, some of whom were born in Pakistan or have lived there for decades. Each day, Afghan families flee toward the border, fearing raids, arrests, or separation from their loved ones.

Pakistan's foreign office said its top diplomat, Ishaq Dar, along with his delegation of ministers, will hold meetings during the one-day visit with senior Afghan Taliban officials, including Prime Minister Hasan Akhund.

In a video shared by Pakistan's Foreign Office, Dar was warmly received upon arrival in the Afghan capital by Mohammad Naeem, the Deputy Minister for Financial and Administrative Affairs at Afghanistan's Foreign Ministry.

“There will not be any sort of leniency or extension in the deadline,” Pakistan’s deputy interior minister Tallal Chaudhry told a news conference on Friday.

“When you arrive without any documents, it only deepens the uncertainty of whether you’re involved in narcotics trafficking, supporting terrorism, or committing other crimes,” he added.

Chaudhry said that around 85,000 Afghans, mostly undocumented, have crossed back into Afghanistan since early April. The UN refugee agency noted that over half of them are children—returning to a country where girls are barred from secondary and higher education, and women face widespread work restrictions.

The Taliban's refugee ministry said about 71,000 returnees were recorded at key border crossings between April 1 and 18. While some Pakistani officials have labeled Afghans as "terrorists and criminals," analysts view this as a politically driven move to pressure the Taliban over growing security concerns.

Nearly three million Afghans have taken refuge in Pakistan but rising tensions with the Taliban have led to mass deportations. In 2023, hundreds of thousands were forced to return, and Pakistan has since canceled over 800,000 residence permits, ordering even registered refugees to leave cities like Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

(With agency inputs)