Islamabad, 15 April 2025 (dpa/MIA) - Tens of thousands of Afghans have left Pakistan since the latest wave of deportations began in early April.

More than 127,000 Afghans have returned to their homeland since the start of the month, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said on Monday.

The majority left the country of their own accord in the face of the threat of deportation, the agency added. Around 26,000 were deported.

Since the expiry of a deadline for voluntary departure at the end of March, Pakistani authorities have begun arresting refugees and transferring them to deportation centres.

In the long term, the government in Islamabad is planning to deport 3 million Afghans.

Uncertain future under Taliban

Many Afghans cried when the latest deportations were announced.

"Pakistan was my home, I was born here," a family head, Mohammed Razoul, told dpa at the Torkham border crossing to Afghanistan.

For decades, millions of Afghans have sought protection from war and instability in neighbouring Pakistan.

After the Taliban retook power in Afghanistan in the summer of 2021, tens of thousands fled across the border for fear of revenge by the country's hardline Islamist rulers. 

Pakistan began the mass deportation of unregistered Afghan refugees at the end of 2023. According to official figures, almost 900,000 Afghans have since left Pakistan.

The campaign was initially aimed at unregistered refugees. However, Islamabad has already announced its intention to also deport registered refugees in future.

"Afghans seeking refuge and asylum in Pakistan after the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in 2021 are particularly at risk," warned Amnesty International.

These include Afghan women and girls, journalists, human rights defenders, women protesters, artists and former Afghan government and security officials who fled Taliban persecution.

Pakistan should reverse its existing policy of forced return to ensure the safety of these individuals, stressed the London-based rights group.

According to observers, the deportations could be a measure by Pakistan to increase the pressure on the Taliban in Afghanistan.

The economically ailing nuclear power is struggling with increasing violence by militant groups and accuses the government in Kabul of granting them safe havens on their soil. The Taliban reject the accusations.

Photo: EPA