Pakistan Expels Nearly 8,000 Migrants in a Day as Deportations Rise

(PAKISTAN) Pakistan expelled nearly 8,000 Afghan migrants in a single day on November 1, 2025, one of the largest single-day deportations since authorities intensified removals after a government deadline passed at the end of March. Afghan nationals who had lived in the country for years were bused to major frontier points and pushed across the border as deportations surged through Spin Boldak, Bahramcha, Islam Qala, and Pul-e-Abrisham. At least 7,945 people entered Afghanistan that day, according to the Taliban’s self-proclaimed Commission for Refugees, with separate tallies citing more than 10,000 crossing via the Chaman–Spin Boldak route as Pakistani officials processed about 1,400 families, roughly 8,000 people.

State Minister for Interior Talal Chaudhry said there would be no relief for those still in Pakistan without valid status.

“There is no deadline extension [to deport illegal foreigners] being considered or given, nor will there be any extension,” he said, adding that more than 850,000 people have been repatriated since the removal drive began in late 2023.
The policy is part of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, which ordered Afghan nationals to leave Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31, 2025, and made clear that Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and undocumented migrants are subject to immediate deportation.

The scale and speed of the latest deportations drew swift criticism from rights groups and aid workers, who say the removals are overwhelming Afghanistan’s border provinces. Camps in Kandahar and Nimroz have swollen as thousands arrive by the day. Aid workers and residents describe rows of makeshift shelters and tents, long queues for a few taps, and people sleeping on bare ground. Supplies are scarce and the conditions are overcrowded and unsanitary, with limited access to water, medicine, or shelter. Local residents in Nangarhar and Helmand allege the Taliban have diverted aid shipments or sold relief on black markets, further straining people who reached the frontier with little more than plastic bags, blankets, and a few utensils.

A Kabul-based migration researcher said Afghanistan lacks the systems to receive so many returnees at once.

“The Taliban have neither the administrative infrastructure nor the international partnerships to absorb or support these returnees. People are simply being pushed into destitution,” the researcher told local media.
Rights advocates in Pakistan echoed that warning as families who have lived in cities like Karachi, Quetta, Islamabad, and Rawalpindi for decades packed whatever they could carry and moved toward the border in recent weeks.

Human rights lawyer Moniza Kakar said the policy is uprooting people who built their lives in Pakistan under state-issued documents that had long been recognized for residency and work.

“Many PoR card holders are people who’ve been here for decades, asking them to relocate means you’re asking them to leave homes, businesses, communities and lives they’ve built for years,” Kakar said.
The Proof of Registration (PoR) card is a document issued to Afghan refugees in past registration drives; many holders say they believed it offered them stability and protection from removal. Now, with deportations underway across multiple provinces, even families with mixed documentation say they have been told to leave or face arrest.

On the Afghan side, officials and border staff have struggled to bring order to the flow. At Torkham, the key crossing north of Spin Boldak, Taliban border official Qari Zahid confirmed that the crossing was reopened specifically for deportations and said the process began with the expulsion of about 1,400 families. At the southern Chaman–Spin Boldak gate, trucks and vans lined up as Pakistani officers verified lists, loaded buses, and coordinated with Afghan counterparts. Those arriving in Kandahar described long waits and confusion over registration, with aid distributed sporadically as local authorities tried to keep crowds moving toward camps.

Amnesty International said the removals violate international law and accused the government of operating without transparency.

“The Pakistani authorities are violating the rights of Afghan refugees with impunity, subjecting them to arbitrary decisions that are shrouded in secrecy, totally lacking transparency and accountability,” said Isabelle Lassée, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International.
Rights groups also point to reports from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where Pakistani police forcibly evicted Afghan families, looted property, and denied refugees due process, including the chance to present documents or access legal representation.

The government has defended the deportations, framing the campaign as an enforcement action against people without valid status and saying it is acting within national law and security needs. Officials link the push to broader concerns over militancy and border security following diplomatic clashes with the Taliban authorities in Kabul. Islamabad has accused the Taliban of harboring fighters from Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), and tensions along the frontier have flared at various points since late 2023. As security incidents rose, the plan to remove undocumented foreigners emerged as a centerpiece of the state’s response, with provincial police tasked to find and process people without recognized papers and transport them to border crossings.

The United Nations estimates that more than half of Afghanistan’s population already depends on humanitarian aid, and agencies warn that the sudden influx of returnees could push a fragile system to the edge. Humanitarian groups say they are struggling to scale up because most international NGOs cannot operate freely under Taliban restrictions, especially in provinces where female staff are banned from field duties. Without female staff, aid groups cannot fully reach women and girls in conservative areas, leaving many needs unmet just as winter approaches and mass returns swell in border districts.

The numbers have grown steadily since late 2023. By the government’s count, more than 850,000 people have left Pakistan under the removal drive. International monitors tally movements across the region: since September 2023, more than four million Afghan citizens have returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan, and nearly 844,499 Afghan nationals were forcibly deported from Pakistan between September 2023 and February 2025. The spike on November 1, 2025 underscores how quickly removals can surge when police operations align with open border gates and coordination with Afghan authorities.

In Islamabad and Rawalpindi, the March deadline set the tone for tighter checks. Afghan nationals were told to leave the twin cities by March 31, 2025 under the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, while ACC holders and undocumented migrants faced immediate deportation orders. ACC cards are identity documents issued to Afghans without refugee status, and rights lawyers say many holders believed the cards would at least protect them from immediate arrest. In practice, families say enforcement varied by neighborhood and province, with some police accepting documents and others ordering people to leave at once or face detention.

Across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Afghan migrants described officers arriving at night, telling families to pack, and escorting them to waiting vehicles. Reports from border districts said belongings were taken or left behind in haste as families headed for Chaman and Torkham. Those who reached Spin Boldak late on November 1 found crowds already pressing toward registration points, with women and children sitting on blankets while men searched for water. Others were redirected toward Bahramcha and Pul-e-Abrisham, two crossings used heavily as removals ramped up in the south and west.

Aid workers in Kandahar and Nimroz said the need for basic shelter is pressing. Tents are full and spillover areas are little more than cleared patches of dirt; some families have tried to shelter in abandoned buildings or roadside rest areas. Doctors reported cases of dehydration, untreated infections, and exposure among young children and older adults. Food lines stretch for hours when trucks arrive, and people reported getting a single meal in a day as stocks run down. In Helmand and Nangarhar, residents said aid is sporadic and sometimes intercepted; they blamed local authorities for diverting relief and selling supplies, claims that deepen mistrust as more buses arrive daily.

Lassée’s criticism reflects a broader chorus from rights organizations, which argue that Pakistan is breaching the principle of non-refoulement by returning people to danger. Advocacy groups say many of those deported fled threats from the Taliban or face repression in Afghanistan, and they call on Pakistan to allow case-by-case screenings and transparent procedures. The Kabul-based migration researcher warned that without coordination and resources, the outcome is predictable:

“People are simply being pushed into destitution,” the researcher said, noting the absence of a reintegration plan in Afghanistan and the lack of international partnerships to support one.

For many families, the upheaval is total. Shops built over years are shuttered, tools and stock sold at a loss, and homes handed back to landlords or simply abandoned. Children who had enrolled in schools in Quetta and Karachi left mid-term. Workers with day labor jobs say they were turned away from worksites as police checks intensified. Kakar’s warning about the disruption to PoR card holders captures what communities describe on the ground: the sweeping nature of the campaign means neighbors with different documents are swept up together, and people who thought they had some legal cover find themselves on buses to the border anyway.

Pakistani officials insist the process is orderly and coordinated. They point to routes like Chaman–Spin Boldak, where they say people are processed as family units and transferred in stages to Afghan authorities. On the Afghan side, officials at Torkham acknowledged that the border is functioning mainly for deportations. As November began, the numbers at Spin Boldak and neighboring crossings showed how quickly the system can move: one day’s surge pushed through at least 7,945 people, while alternate counts at Chaman–Spin Boldak described more than 10,000 in a single day, anchored around the expulsion of about 1,400 families.

Humanitarian agencies warn these flows will continue unless enforcement eases or Pakistan creates a more granular process to separate long-settled people from recent arrivals. They say the current system does not allow families to make their case, appeal decisions, or even collect documents before removal. In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, claims of forced evictions and looting deepen fears, as people hesitate to seek help from police or courts. Rights monitors say due process has been denied repeatedly, including the right to present papers or obtain legal representation.

The diplomatic backdrop remains tense. Pakistan has pressed the Taliban to act against TTP fighters, while Kabul rejects accusations and urges Pakistan to avoid policies that punish civilians. Border incidents have flared and receded through 2024 and 2025, and each spike has preceded renewed pressure on Afghan communities inside Pakistan. The result is a cycle in which deportations increase when relations sour, forcing thousands toward Spin Boldak and other exits in short bursts that strain local authorities and aid groups alike.

As winter approaches, the risks for returnees multiply. Families stuck in open camps face cold nights without heaters or adequate blankets. Health workers warn that respiratory illnesses will rise, especially among children and older adults. Food insecurity is likely to deepen as prices climb and casual work remains scarce. With “no deadline extension” forthcoming, as Chaudhry put it, those still in Pakistan without recognized documents weigh a stark choice: leave quickly on their own or risk forced removal to a border already crowded with people trying to find space on the other side.

Government officials say the campaign will continue. Rights groups urge a pause and insist that Pakistan must create transparent procedures, especially for people with PoR and ACC documents, before removing them. On the Afghan side, officials face a growing population in need and limited tools to help them, not least because international NGOs face heavy restrictions that limit aid delivery in many provinces. The United Nations’ warning that more than half the country relies on assistance frames the stakes: a system under strain now must absorb mass returns without the staff and funds to do so safely.

For now, the numbers speak to the urgency. Nearly 844,499 Afghan nationals were deported from Pakistan between September 2023 and February 2025, and more than four million returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan over that period. The spike on November 1, 2025—thousands pushed through Spin Boldak, Bahramcha, Islam Qala, and Pul-e-Abrisham in a single day—shows that when deportations accelerate, the humanitarian crisis at the border deepens by the hour. With accusations of forced evictions in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, aid diversion in Helmand and Nangarhar, and overwhelmed camps in Kandahar and Nimroz, Afghan migrants now face a future in which crossing the gate is only the start of their struggle.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has not announced any changes to the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan or offered a new timetable. Officials maintain removals will proceed and direct questions about status and documentation to the Interior Ministry’s public guidance. For official statements and policy updates, readers can consult the Ministry of Interior (Pakistan). As the removals roll on, thousands more are likely to move toward the frontier, and Spin Boldak—already a symbol of forced return—will brace again for another long day.