Pakistan has announced it will go ahead with a new round of expulsions of “undocumented Afghan refugees” from the country, despite fears about their safety.

Human rights organisations and refugee advocates have voiced concerns about what will happen to the refugees if they are returned to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.

Pakistan’s Interior Minister Mohsin made the announcement in a meeting with UN humanitarian coordinator for Afghanistan Indrika Ratwatte, who was visiting Pakistan.

A statement issued by the ministry said that no one will be allowed to stay in Pakistan without a visa or other legal documents.

The first round of mass deportations of some of the 1.7 million ‘undocumented’ Afghan refugees from Pakistan in November last year was met with vehement criticism.

The Pakistani government has said it has been preparing for the second round of expulsions for months now, according to local reports.

Almost three million Afghans are living as refugees in Pakistan. Some have been there for decades and fled to the neighbouring country to escape war, chaos, and human rights violations in their homeland.

According to the UNHCR, there are 2.18 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan. But this number does not include the Afghans who came after the Taliban took power in August 2021, estimated to be anywhere between 600,000 to 800,000.

Pakistan has labelled all refugees who do not have identity or citizenship documents as “undocumented aliens” who should be expelled.

A large number of Afghans – almost 50,000 – have been living in Pakistan since the August 2021 evacuations from Kabul, waiting for repatriation by Western countries.

Most of these Afghans worked with the international forces or governments, including Australia, during the two decades-long occupation of the country.

Most were promised repatriation by the US and its allies during the chaotic evacuation.

At least 25,000 of these stranded Afghans are waiting to be relocated to the US alone.

The Pakistani government has already officially complained to the UNHCR about the slow pace of repatriation.

Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif foreshadowed the expulsion of refugees from the country as one of his government’s priorities after taking office earlier this year.

Human Rights groups have accused Pakistan of attacking refugees, accusing them of participating in terror activities, smuggling and other crimes in the country.

It also has called them a burden on the country’s fragile economy. 

The groups have called the expulsion of Afghan refugees a callous act which disregards the possible persecution, human rights violations, and economic suffering most of these refugees will face when they return to Afghanistan.

Since 2021, Afghanistan has been governed by the Taliban, which has implemented discriminatory policies against women and minorities.

Following the Taliban’s defeat of the US-backed government, the US and its western allies also placed restrictive sanctions on Afghanistan and seized some of its foreign assets, which sent the country’s economy into freefall.

The result is that 85 per cent of the population now live under the poverty line.

The UN Human Rights chief Volkar Turk has said that “in the current context of Afghanistan, the expulsion of refugees from Pakistan exacerbates an already precarious humanitarian situation”.