August 27, 2025
By Rana Malhi
ISLAMABAD
The Pakistani government has announced plans to begin deporting around 15,000 more Afghan refugees from September 1, including those holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. Officials say preparations are underway to expel the refugees with PoR cards, raising serious concerns for vulnerable groups who fear persecution if forced to return under Taliban rule.
Afghan refugees living in Pakistan – including journalists, teachers, athletes, women, and human rights activists – say their lives would be in danger if they are deported. Many have appealed to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Pakistani government to reconsider.
Sitting in a camp, at the G6 park in the capital city, Afghan journalist Haseena Rafih said that she fled after the Taliban shut down her work as a reporter.
“I was forced to work in Pakistan just to survive,” she said speaking to Voicepk. “If I go back, the Taliban will kill me. They already monitor everything I do, and I face constant threats.” She urged Pakistan and international agencies to intervene.
Present at the camp is also former teacher Haseeba Ahmed, who fled Afghanistan in 2021 with her husband. She recalled that her spouse was detained by the Taliban for a month.
“In Afghanistan, women can no longer attend school, work, or even go to the market without a male guardian,” she said. “For us, life there is impossible. UNHCR promised to resettle us to a third country, but four years later nothing has happened. Now, instead of protection, we face deportation.”
Once part of Afghanistan’s Olympic delegation, athlete Parveen Askari says she is now homeless, even in Pakistan.
“I was a sportswoman, but the Taliban have banned women’s sports,” she says. “Now I live in a park, with no shelter. Without training and support, life is unbearable. Deportation would mean the end of my life as an athlete and as a woman.”
Refugees say the Taliban’s restrictions on women’s rights, press freedom, and civic activity make return a life-threatening prospect. They warn that deportation could silence activists and professionals who have already lost homes, jobs, and security since fleeing Afghanistan.
Civil society groups have echoed calls for Pakistan to halt deportations, stressing that refugees should not be sent back to conditions where their safety cannot be guaranteed.
Afghan refugees, including women and professionals, continue to plead with UNHCR and the Pakistani government not to deport them, citing threats to their lives under Taliban rule.