Pakistan is preparing to deport nearly 900,000 Afghan refugees as international aid declines, following the Trump administration’s decision to halt funding and freeze resettlement programs, Financial Times reported.
Pakistan is home to approximately 3 million Afghan refugees who have crossed the porous border over the years, escaping prolonged conflict and, more recently, the Taliban's return to power in 2021.
The country's interior ministry has issued a warning to around 870,000 Afghan Citizenship Card (ACC) holders, urging them to leave voluntarily before April 1 or face forced repatriation, according to Financial Times. Pakistan introduced ACCs in 2017 to document Afghan refugees residing in the country.
A senior Pakistani diplomat, speaking anonymously to Financial Times, cited the decline in international assistance as a major factor behind the move to ramp up deportations.
The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reported that the United States contributed 42% of the more than $100 million in global aid Pakistan received last year for hosting Afghan refugees. However, US President Donald Trump’s administration froze nearly all foreign aid, including refugee assistance, in an executive order signed on January 20. The order also suspended refugee resettlement in the US, except in rare individual cases.
Both the foreign aid cuts and the refugee resettlement freeze have been challenged in court, but Western and Pakistani officials told Financial Times that aid levels are unlikely to be restored. Even with US funding, last year’s international assistance for Afghan refugees in Pakistan fell significantly short of the $368 million target set by the UN.
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