Pakistan has expelled over 80,000 Afghan nationals since the end of March, a senior official said on Friday, as part of a repatriation drive ahead of the April 30 deadline.

Afghan nationals who have no legal documents to stay or those holding Afghan Citizen Cards had been warned by Islamabad to return home or face deportation by March 31, a deadline which was then extended to April 30.

The April 30 deadline is final, Talal Chaudhry, an interior ministry adviser told a press conference in Islamabad, underlining that only those Afghans who hold valid visas to be in Pakistan would be allowed to stay, Reuters reported.

The repatriation drive is part of a campaign called the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan launched in late 2023.

Pakistan has in the past blamed militant attacks and crimes on Afghan citizens, who form the largest migrant group in the country. Afghanistan has rejected the accusations, and has termed the repatriation as forced deportation.

Chaudhry was speaking just a day before Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar is scheduled to lead a high-powered delegation for talks in Kabul.

“The talks will cover the entire gamut of the Pakistan-Afghan relationship, focusing on ways and means to deepen cooperation in all areas of mutual interests, including security, trade, connectivity, and people-to-people ties,” a foreign office statement said.

Pakistani authorities say they have set up temporary centres in various cities to house the Afghan nationals before transporting them to the Torkham border crossing in northwest Pakistan.

Indrika Ratwatte, Deputy UN Special Representative for Afghanistan, says the solution to Afghanistan’s problems is engagement and diplomatic dialogue.

In an exclusive interview with Ariana News, Ratwatte emphasized that the United Nations has never stated that the situation in Afghanistan is deteriorating.

“I believe engagement is the solution. In any situation where parties may have differing views, sitting at the table, putting the issues on the table, discussing them, and reaching a middle ground is key—a path that addresses the needs and expectations of all sides through a principled process of engagement,” said Ratwatte.

However, he added that Afghanistan still ranks second globally in terms of humanitarian needs, even though there is no active conflict in the country.

He shared data indicating that currently, 23 million people in Afghanistan are in need of humanitarian assistance. In his view, the global humanitarian landscape poses challenges to delivering aid to Afghanistan.

“When you look at the global humanitarian landscape and the major crises around the world, Afghanistan still ranks second in terms of humanitarian needs. First is Sudan, which clearly has an ongoing active conflict. Here in Afghanistan, there is no conflict, but the humanitarian needs remain widespread. For example, it appears that around 23 million people need some form of humanitarian aid,” he added.

Ratwatte also told Ariana News that the recent restrictions imposed by the Islamic Emirate on women attending health institutes pose a serious challenge, particularly given Afghanistan’s high maternal and infant mortality rates.

He added that UN officials have shared their concerns with the IEA about the future of Afghanistan without trained nurses and midwives.

“Afghanistan has one of the highest maternal and infant mortality rates. So, educating and supporting female healthcare workers is vital. This, I believe, is a major challenge. As we discussed with the authorities, the recent restriction on women attending health institutions was troubling,” Ratwatte stressed.

Meanwhile, he also stated that the return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan is a major concern for the United Nations.

According to him, since December 2023, more than 800,000 people have returned from Pakistan, and hundreds more have come back from Iran.

The Director General of the Office of Prisons Administration, Mohammad Yusuf Mestri, says nearly 200 Afghan prisoners, who had been arrested in Iran for various crimes, were handed over on Friday to the Islamic Emirate through the Silk Bridge border crossing.

Mestri added that as part of the prisoner handover process, a total of 484 Afghan prisoners detained in Iran for different offenses will be transferred to the Islamic Emirate following negotiations.

He stated that the transfer process officially began on Friday with the handover of 199 Afghan inmates, each of whom will be sent to their respective provinces to serve the remainder of their sentences.

Meanwhile, two Iranian prisoners were also handed over to Iranian authorities last night as a gesture of “goodwill and positive engagement.”