Link to Article: https://www.voanews.com/a/pakistan-deports-afghans-with-unhcr-papers/7939282.html
Earlier this month, Pakistan issued a enactments to expel Afghan citizens from its capital, Islamabad, despite many of the Afghans bearing UNHCR, i.e refugee, documents. It is reported that authorities in Islamabad have deported upwards of 300 Afghan citizens between January 1st and 15th, with an estimated 80 of deported having possession of preliminary refugee documents that the UNHCR had given them. Despite these documents, there is no legal coverage as the UN is simply an overseeing entity, and not one that Pakistan is legally bound to witholding to. The actions are apart of a greater scheme over the duration of the last two years to expel undocumented residents amid the risk of rising terrorism and fanaticism following the Taliban’s takeover of Afghanistan.
Alongside this, in November, the Minister of the Interior of Pakistan, Mohsin Naqvi, announced that Afghan citizens in the city would require a no-objection certificate, or NOC, from the cities administration to stay in the capital beyond the end of the year. It is alleged by Minister Naqvi that the Afghan citizens seeking refugee status in the city took part in a protest that saw thousands of supporters descend on Islamabad over support of the now incarcerated former Pakistani Prime Minister, Imran Khan. It is reported during these protests that 4 security personnel were killed, and following this, a crackdown of the protest resulted in another 12 deaths of supporting protestors.
I believe that outcries by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees will be voiced, however, it is unlikely that any such outcome will be changed by their cries for support–perhaps some international support may arrive in terms of detestments of the Pakistani actions, however, it looks likely that Pakistani authorities will alter greatly in the next year. It is of importance to note that the Afghan-Taliban envoy in Islamabad met with the representative of the VOA news station in Pakistan to convey their own concerns about Pakistani actions and the deportation, and detention of registered Afghan refugees in Islamabad and neighboring cities.
I do expect that the Taliban government now in control of all of Afghanistan will voice some outcries against this due to their people being subjected to what is, effectively mass deportation and detention by a foreign government, regardless of their asylum or refugee seeking status as seen by the United Nations. Pakistani officials met with the outgoing U.S ambassador to Pakistan stating that no illegal foreigners will be allowed to stay in the country, but that those holding valid documents from the Pakistani government will not be targeted and will not have any legal, or otherwise forceful actions taken against them.