Fear of deportation turns deadly for Afghan refugees in Pakistan

Fear of arrest and forced deportation is pushing Afghan refugees in Pakistan into life-threatening situations, with women, children and the sick paying the heaviest price, humanitarian groups warn.

Doctors Without Borders (Médecins Sans Frontières – MSF) has shared harrowing accounts of Afghan families too afraid to leave their homes, even for urgent medical care, due to Pakistan’s ongoing deportation drive.

In one recent incident, an Afghan refugee couple knocked on the door of a Pakistani rickshaw driver late on a cold November night, begging for help. The woman was in labor, but the family feared that leaving their home would result in police detention. Despite having no money, the driver agreed to take her to hospital.

“She was screaming all the way,” the driver later told MSF staff in Balochistan province. “She gave birth in my rickshaw. It was full of blood. I cannot describe it in words. It broke me mentally.”

The mother and newborn survived after receiving care at an MSF facility, but aid workers say such cases are becoming increasingly common as Afghan refugees face serious barriers to accessing health services.

According to MSF, mass deportations have turned into a catastrophic humanitarian crisis. Thousands of Afghan refugees are being held in temporary camps with little or no access to shelter, clean water, sanitation, food, or health care. With winter temperatures dropping sharply, fear of arrest is preventing many from seeking treatment, leading to miscarriages, untreated illnesses and preventable deaths.

Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan refugees since the late 1970s. However, since November 2023, the government has implemented the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan, initially targeting undocumented Afghans before expanding to Afghan Citizen Card holders and, more recently, those with UN-issued proof of registration cards.

Deportations surged again from September 2025, coinciding with winter, and are now affecting Afghans regardless of legal status.

MSF has reported tragic cases, including the death of a five-month-old baby who spent the night in freezing conditions at a holding center before reaching medical care, and the case of a woman who died after delivering a stillborn baby in a camp with no basic facilities. Her family was deported to Afghanistan shortly after—along with her body.

“Lives are at stake,” said Xu Weibing, MSF’s head of mission in Pakistan. “Afghan families are being forced to choose between living in fear of deportation and danger upon return. Safety, dignity and humanity are not optional.”

Aid organizations are urging Pakistan to halt forced returns and calling on the international community to urgently increase humanitarian assistance, provide winter shelter, health care and protection, and find safe relocation options for the most vulnerable.