Overview
- The Interior Ministry has directed authorities to arrest any Afghan national found in Pakistan without a valid visa starting July 10 and to begin daily reporting on arrests and detainee status to the ministry from July 11.
- The order, sent to chief secretaries, provincial police chiefs and district administrations, tasks provincial and territory officials with uniform, accelerated implementation of the Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan (IFRP).
- The directive was issued the day after an attack on a Pakistan Rangers camp in Karachi that officials said involved an Afghan national and claimed militant training links to Afghanistan.
- Human rights groups and U.N. officials warned the measure has sown fear, may breach non‑refoulement obligations and raises urgent questions because the order does not state whether arrests will lead to charges, detention terms or deportation.
- The move formalizes an intensified repatriation campaign that has sent large numbers of Afghans home since 2023 and could increase forced returns, strain border crossings and deepen diplomatic tensions between Islamabad and Kabul.