Afghanistan Times
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KABUL – Amnesty International has launched a powerful new campaign, #UndoTheDeadline, calling for an immediate halt to the deportation of Afghan nationals from Pakistan. The campaign, launched today, comes amid fresh crackdowns by Pakistani authorities on undocumented Afghans, including registered refugees and asylum seekers.
To mark the initiative, Amnesty released a compendium titled “Treat us like human beings”: Afghans in Pakistan at risk of unlawful deportation, which documents the stories of ten Afghan individuals—journalists, women, artists, and others—who face grave danger if returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
“Afghan nationals including refugees and asylum seekers in Pakistan have been living in a state of fear since the Pakistani authorities announced their phased deportation plans in October 2023,” said Babu Ram Pant, Amnesty’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia. “Their lives stand to be completely upended as a result of the Pakistan government’s insistence on violating their obligations under international human rights law.”
Since the Taliban takeover in August 2021, thousands of Afghans—especially women protestors, rights defenders, and former officials—have sought refuge in Pakistan. Many have lived there for decades, but now face expulsion under Islamabad’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, which Amnesty has urged the government to suspend immediately.
Amnesty warns that these forced returns contravene the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which prohibits sending individuals back to countries where they face threats to life or freedom.
“This is a human rights emergency,” said Pant. “Pakistan must reverse its policy of forced return to ensure the safety and dignity of those fleeing persecution.”
