Don’t unilaterally decide migrants’ fate, Kabul urges

Taliban authorities urged Pakistan on Thursday not to make a unilateral decision on repatriating Afghan migrants, saying they shouldn’t be “harassed”, after reports Islamabad would renew an eviction campaign.

Meanwhile, Pakistan denied the perception that the policy on expulsion of foreigners illegally residing in Pakistan was Afghan specific.

Since the announcement of the policy last year, amidst heightened TTP violence that further frayed the ties between Islamabad and Kabul, nearly 527,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan.

There are no reports that the government is planning to expand what it calls ‘Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan’ to Pakistan-issued Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders after Eidul Fitr and subsequently to UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) card holders.

Asks Islamabad to not ‘harass’ its citizens; FO insists policy on expulsion of illegal foreigners not ‘Afghan specific’

At a weekly media briefing in Islamabad, Foreign Office spokesperson Mumtaz Zahra Baloch stayed short of confirming this, saying “several measures are under consideration and debate”.

“The issue of refugees is bilateral and decisions regarding them should be made through an understanding between both countries,” said Abdul Rahman Rashed, according to a ministry statement on social media platform X on Thursday. “They shouldn’t be harassed until a joint mechanism is reached.”

Commenting on the reported relaxation of visa requirement for truckers involved in Pak-Afghan transit trade, FO spokesperson Baloch said there was no change in Pakistan’s position with respect to the one-document regime, which was still intact and the two sides had during Commerce Secretary Khurram Agha’s visit to Kabul agreed on a transition period for full implementation of the regime.