April 17, 2026
By Islam Gul
KHYBER
Muhammad Shuaib arrived in Landi Kotal from Akora Khattak six days ago, but it it is still unclear when his paperwork and processing for his return to Afghanistan will be completed. For now his entire family is living in a single tent.
“Despite promises made by Pakistani authorities and Afghan Taliban representatives, the problems faced by returning Afghan refugees have not eased in the least,” he complains. “Tokens are issued to about a hundred families each day, and they are forced to make repeated trips to the registration centre just to find out when their turn will come.”
The waiting period is challenging. Two families must share a single tent, and even drinking water is not available.
The number of token had increased to 600 when Pakistani and Afghan officials had visited on April 17, but now even after a week has passed, the number has not exceeded more than 1100. The officials’ visit had raised hopes that the refugees’ problems would be resolved, but that did not happen, adds Shuaib.
Disrupted traffic, stranded trucks
The number of returning Afghan refugees is growing by the day, but as a result, traffic on the Pakistan-Afghanistan highway has also been severely disrupted. More than 300 trucks carrying the household belongings of returning Afghan refugees are parked along the road from Bhagyari Checkpost to Sour Kamar area in Tehsil Jamrud. Authorities have halted them to allow the processing of refugees already present in Landi Kotal to be completed first.
Refugees protest at holding camp
For now five registration centres have been established across the province for returning Afghan refugees, one of the main ones being located near Hamza Baba shrine in Landi Kotal. Refugees are staying with their families in tents pitched at Landi Kotal Degree College and surrounding areas while they await their turn. According to the refugees, at least one person has died due to a lack of medical facilities.
A large number of refugees, frustrated by the lengthy wait for paperwork, marched in protest towards the holding camp.
The protest was led by Afghan refugee Fazal Rahman, who told Voice of Pakistan (VPK) that people had been waiting in tents at Landi Degree College and nearby areas for four to five days just to receive a token, yet the authorities were doing nothing to resolve their problems.
He added that even after receiving a token, a further five-day wait for registration is required, meaning the entire process ends up taking more than ten days. He said that sick and elderly people among them were suffering from various ailments, and they were therefore making their way peacefully to the holding camp to bring their problems to the attention of the authorities.
Why Afghan refugees are leaving Pakistan?
The primary reason behind the large-scale return of Afghan refugees is the Pakistani government’s stringent measures regarding their deportation. Javed Ullah, who was heading back to Afghanistan from Swabi, said that not only were arrests being carried out by the police, but the sanctity of people’s homes was also being violated.
It was this fear that compelled him to leave Pakistan — yet there are no facilities at the departure points for returning refugees. He said that there is not the slightest provision here for basic necessities such as toilets for women, privacy, food and water, or medical treatment for the sick. He added that Islamabad and Kabul should sit together and work to reduce the hardships faced by refugees.
Delays in processing?
A total of seventeen hundred tokens have so far been issued at the Landi Kotal Holding Camp, of which the processing for eleven hundred and fifty has been completed. One hundred tokens are issued per day, with one token assigned per family — which may consist of two people or as many as a hundred.
Assistant Commissioner Landi Kotal Inaam Wazir, speaking about the problems faced by Afghan refugees, said that previously there were only six NADRA counters, through which two thousand refugees were cleared and sent to Afghanistan each day. However, following a visit by the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the number of NADRA counters has been increased to twenty-two, and now more than four thousand refugees are being registered and dispatched to Afghanistan via the Torkham border crossing each day.
Explaining the reasons for delays in processing, he said that between seven and eight thousand individuals travel to Afghanistan via Torkham daily from Landi Kotal and other centres. However, Afghan Taliban officials have stated that it is not possible for them to manage such large numbers of incoming refugees, and have asked that they not be sent in such high volumes. He added that Pakistani authorities have the capacity to process even more refugees than the current number on a daily basis, but the matter ultimately depends on the Afghan Taliban’s strategy.
Pakistanis stranded in Afghanistan
After videos showing the plight of refugees waiting outside the holding camp during heavy rainfall went viral on social media, the Chief Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa visited the Landi Kotal Holding Camp on April 11th and issued directives to improve facilities for returning refugees.
On this occasion, local journalist Mian Sajid raised before the Chief Minister the issue of nine hundred Pakistani cargo vehicles and more than twelve hundred drivers, traders, and workers from various sectors who have been stranded in Afghanistan for the past six months.
According to Sajid, the Chief Minister instructed that a complete list of these individuals and vehicles be handed over to Member of the Provincial Assembly Adnan Qadri, and that the matter be resolved through the Commissioner of Peshawar in coordination with the Afghan Taliban’s Consul General in Peshawar.
He said that a formal meeting of the relevant officials subsequently took place and the list has been handed over to the Afghan Taliban’s Consul General.
Border tensions
Pakistan-Afghanistan trade has been suspended for the past six months due to strained relations between the two countries. The return of refugees had also been halted when hostilities broke out on February 26th, though the process resumed on March 26th.
A day later, the Torkham border was closed again following an attack on a security checkpoint in the village of Awal Khan near Torkham. After talks between both sides, the Torkham border was reopened for refugee returns from April 1st; however, all border crossings currently remain closed for trade and general movement of people.
Due to the ongoing tensions, Pakistani students pursuing medical studies in Afghanistan have also been severely affected.
It is worth noting that the decision to open the border for refugees came at a time when the Pakistani government has already launched a crackdown on Afghan refugees across the country, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.