Pakistan FM arrives in Kabul as Islamabad evicts Afghan migrants under mass deportation drive

Pakistan’s foreign minister arrived in Afghanistan on Saturday to meet Taliban leaders after the country expelled over 85,000 Afghans, many of them children, in just over two weeks, news agency AFP reported.

Islamabad is carrying out a tough campaign to remove more than 800,000 Afghans by the end of April.

These include people whose residence permits were cancelled, some of whom were born in Pakistan or have lived there for many years. Every day, Afghan families are rushing to the border, afraid of being raided, arrested, or separated from loved ones.

Pakistan’s foreign office said Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar and a team of ministers are in Afghanistan for a one-day visit to meet top Taliban leaders, including Prime Minister Hasan Akhund.

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A video shared by the foreign office showed Dar being warmly welcomed in Kabul by Mohammad Naeem, the deputy foreign minister for financial and administrative affairs.

“There will not be any sort of leniency or extension in the deadline,” Pakistan’s deputy interior minister Tallal Chaudhry told a news conference on Friday.

“When you arrive without any documents, it only deepens the uncertainty of whether you’re involved in narcotics trafficking, supporting terrorism, or committing other crimes,” he added.

Pak minister calls Afghans terrorists and criminals

Pakistan’s interior minister has previously called Afghans “terrorists and criminals,” but experts say this is likely a political move to pressure the Taliban government over rising security issues, as well as to use them for their anti-India agenda and the use of terrorism as a foreign policy measure.

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Minister Naqvi said on Friday nearly 85,000 Afghans, most of them without proper documents, have returned to Afghanistan since early April.

Mostly children among leaving

The UN refugee agency said more than half of those leaving are children. They are entering a country where girls are banned from secondary schools and universities, and women face severe work restrictions.

Afghanistan’s refugee ministry told AFP on Saturday that around 71,000 Afghans have returned through the two main border crossings between 1 and 18 April.