Afghanistan’s embassy in Islamabad said on Wednesday that Afghan nationals in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have recently been subjected to arrests, searches, and orders from the police to leave the twin cities and relocate to other parts of Pakistan.

According to a statement issued by the embassy, this process of detaining Afghans, which began without any formal announcement, has not been officially communicated to the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad through any formal correspondence.

“In response, the Embassy has held multiple meetings with relevant Pakistani authorities and officials to seek clarification on the matter — whether these actions are isolated incidents that need to be stopped or part of an official policy that should be publicly disclosed,” the statement read.

The statement noted that discussions with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) revealed that they were unaware of the ongoing situation.

However, Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has now confirmed that there is “a definitive and final plan to deport/remove all Afghan refugees not only from Islamabad and Rawalpindi but also from the entire country in the near future,” the embassy stated.

Pakistan officials told Afghanistan’s embassy officials that this decision was official and only Afghans who are in possession of valid, legal, visas will be allowed to reside in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The embassy went on to state that Pakistan has decided to remove all Afghan refugees, including those holding ACC (Afghan Citizen Card) and PoR (Proof of Registration) cards, from Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and that their expulsion from the country is imminent.

Embassy officials have meanwhile expressed serious concerns in meetings with Pakistani authorities and international organizations regarding the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees within such a short timeframe and the unilateral nature of Pakistan’s decision.

The Embassy has shared this matter with Kabul to facilitate discussions on the dignified repatriation of Afghan nationals and to assess the existing challenges surrounding this issue.

This week the International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that over 18,000 Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Islamabad and Rawalpindi last month.

According to the organization, 9,846 Afghan returnees were identified through border crossing points of Torkham, Chaman, Ghulam Khan, Badini, and Bahramcha.

Since September 15, 2023, at least 824,568 individuals have returned to Afghanistan while two percent (18,577) of this total has returned since January 2025, the IOM said.

According to the report, the fear of arrest (78 percent) and inability to pay house rent (34 percent) are the most common reasons for the return cited among the heads of households returning to Afghanistan.

The IOM also stated that both the fear of arrest and communal pressure to return increased in the past two weeks.