Pakistani media have recently reported that around 300 Afghan families are living in temporary and unsanitary conditions in Argentina Park in Islamabad, the capital of Pakistan, while waiting to be relocated to a third country.
According to a report published by Pakistan’s Geo News, these families have been left in limbo following the Taliban’s return to power in Afghanistan and changes in U.S. and other countries’ refugee policies.
The report states that among them are former female Afghan police officers who say they were forced to flee their homeland due to threats and violence.
It also mentions that since 2023, more than one million Afghans have left Pakistan, with over 200,000 of them expelled or forced to return since April of this year.
Somaya, a 24-year-old who fled Afghanistan in 2022 and sought refuge in Pakistan, told Geo News: “We escaped because our lives were in danger in Afghanistan. There was no future for our children there. But here, too, there is no place for us.”
Many Afghan refugees in Islamabad say they live between hope and despair, face an uncertain future, and are calling for resettlement in safe countries.
According to Pakistani media, more than 1.3 million Afghans hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, while another 750,000 possess Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC).
These pressures are part of the Pakistani government’s “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan,” which is being implemented simultaneously in Iran, where more than 1.5 million Afghans have also been expelled.
