Afghan Migrants Urge Pakistan’s Prime Minister to Halt Their Expulsion
Afghan refugees in Pakistan, who are awaiting resettlement in the United States, have urged Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif to stop their immediate expulsion and facilitate the visa extension process for Afghan citizens.
According to a report by Dawn newspaper, in a two-page letter sent to Shehbaz Sharif, a group under the title “Afghan Refugees Awaiting Resettlement in the U.S. in Pakistan” requested that “the immediate expulsion of Afghan citizens whose visa applications for entry to the United States are under review or approval or have been referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program be halted.”
Pakistan has set a deadline of March 31 for the departure of all Afghan refugees from Islamabad and Rawalpindi. According to this order, Afghan citizens who hold Afghan nationality cards must leave Pakistan by March 31, but those with registration documents from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) can remain in Pakistan until June 30.
The letter also requests that the process for obtaining exit permits for refugees with migration paths to third countries and ready to leave Pakistan be facilitated, so that these individuals can depart the country without “obstacles.”
Based on the letter, the recent decision to expel Afghan citizens will impact “special immigration visa applicants, individuals referred to the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program, and applicants for humanitarian parole.” The letter also points to the existing issues in the visa extension process.
The letter calls on the Pakistani government to treat Afghan refugees “in accordance with international laws.”