Afghans are piling into trucks and buses and leaving Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation.
Afghans wait to walk across a border crossing point in Chaman, Pakistan, Tuesday, Oct. 31, 2023. A large number of Afghans crammed into trucks and buses in Pakistan, heading to the border to return home hours before the expiration of a Pakistani government deadline for those who are in the country illegally to leave or face deportation.
Human Right Watch on Tuesday accused Pakistan of resorting to “threats, abuse, and detention to coerce Afghan asylum seekers without legal status” to return to Afghanistan. The New York-based watchdog appealed for authorities to drop the deadline and work with the U.N. refugee agency to register those without papers., the campaign comes amid strained relations between Pakistan and the Taliban rulers next door.
“I am going back with good memories," he told The Associated Press, adding he planned to head to the Torkham border crossing later Tuesday and that he'd asked the Taliban government for help to start a new life. Sayed Ahmad Banwari, the deputy provincial governor, told state TV that local authorities are working hard to establish temporary camps.
A U.S. diplomat, who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the policy, said Washington's priority was to facilitate the safe and efficient resettlement and relocation of more than 25,000 eligible Afghans in Pakistan to the U.S.
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Afghans head to leave Pakistan ahead of a deadline in anti-migrant crackdownAfghans are piling into trucks and buses and leaving Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation
Read more »
Afghans return to Taliban rule as Pakistan moves to expel 1.7 millionAs the clock ticked down to the Nov. 1 deadline Pakistan set for undocumented migrants to leave the country, Muhammad Rahim boarded a bus from Kara...
Read more »
Insight: Afghans return to Taliban rule as Pakistan moves to expel 1.7 millionAs the clock ticked down to the Nov. 1 deadline Pakistan set for undocumented migrants to leave the country, Muhammad Rahim boarded a bus from Karachi to the Afghan border.
Read more »
In a new expulsion campaign, Pakistan is forcing many Afghans out of the countryPakistan has drawn criticism for warning those living in the country illegally to leave or be arrested and deported after Oct. 31. The U.N. says over 2 million undocumented Afghans live in Pakistan.
Read more »
Afghans in droves head to border to leave Pakistan ahead of a deadline in anti-migrant crackdownAfghans are piling into trucks and buses and leaving Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation
Read more »
Afghans in droves head to border to leave Pakistan ahead of a deadline in anti-migrant crackdownAfghans are piling into trucks and buses and leaving Pakistan to avoid arrest and deportation. Their hurried departures on Tuesday came just hours before the expiration of a deadline for foreigners living in the country illegally to leave voluntarily or face deportation.
Read more »