ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has postponed a deadline for hundreds of thousands of Afghans to return to their country due to Eid Al-Fitr holidays marking the end of Ramadan, a government official said on Tuesday.
In early March, Islamabad announced a deadline of the end of the month for Afghans holding certain documentation to leave the country, ramping up a campaign to send Afghans back to their homeland.
“The deadline has been extended until the beginning of next week due to Eid holidays,” the official said on the condition of anonymity as he was not authorized to speak to the media.
Afghans holding Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) — issued by Pakistan authorities and held by 800,000 people, according to the United Nations — face deportation to Afghanistan after the deadline.
More than 1.3 million Afghans who hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards from the UN refugee agency, UNHCR, are also to be moved outside the capital Islamabad and neighboring city Rawalpindi.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having fled there over decades of war in their country and after the return of the Taliban to power in Afghanistan.
“Many have been living in the country for years and going back means going back to nothing,” Pakistani human rights lawyer Moniza Kakar said.
Ties between the neighboring countries have frayed since the Taliban takeover, with Pakistan accusing Kabul’s rulers of failing to root out militants sheltering on Afghan soil, a charge the Taliban government denies.
A delegation from Islamabad met with officials in Kabul in March, with Pakistan emphasizing the importance of security in Afghanistan for the region.
The Taliban government has repeatedly called for the “dignified” return of Afghans to their country, with Prime Minister Hassan Akhund urging countries hosting Afghans not to force out them out.
“We ask that instead of forced deportation, Afghans should be supported and provided with facilities,” he said in an Eid message the day before Pakistan’s original deadline.
Rights groups have condemned Pakistan’s campaign.
Human Rights Watch slammed “abusive tactics” used to pressure Afghans to return to their country “where they risk persecution by the Taliban and face dire economic conditions.”
Afghan girls and young women would lose rights to education if returned to Afghanistan, as per Taliban authority bans.
Amnesty International condemned the removal of Afghans in Islamabad awaiting resettlement in other countries, saying they would be “far from foreign missions who had promised visas and travel documents, and risk deportation due to the increased difficulty in coordinating their relocation with missions such as the United States.”
Following an ultimatum from Islamabad in late 2023 for undocumented Afghans to leave Pakistan, more than 800,000 Afghans returned between September 2023 and the end of 2024, according UN figures.

KUALA LUMPUR: A massive fire caused by a gas pipeline leak forced people from their homes and injured more than 100 during Eid celebrations near Malaysia’s capital on Tuesday, fire officials said.

The inferno, which was visible kilometers away, was caused by “a gas pipeline leak stretching approximately 500 meters (1,600 feet),” said fire officials in Selangor state near Kuala Lumpur.

The valve to the affected pipeline belonging to Malaysia’s state-run oil firm Petronas has been shut off, the fire officials said in a statement.

While the early morning blaze was coming under control in the afternoon, more than 100 people were injured, the fire department said.

About 60 of the injured were hospitalized, Selangor deputy police chief Mohamad Zaini Abu Hassan was quoted as saying by local broadcaster Astro Awani.

No deaths were reported but about 50 houses were affected by the blaze, the fire department said.

Residents were enjoying a public holiday for Eid celebrations in Muslim-majority Malaysia when they were forced to flee the suburban area.

Nizam Mohamad Asnizam, 49, who lives 100 meters from the site of the fire, fled from his house with his family in his car.

“When I woke up, I saw the fire raging, with an extraordinary sound. I have never experienced a fire with this kind of sound. The sound was terrifying. It felt like a jet engine was next to me,” he said.

“Stepping on the floor was like stepping on a hot wok. The heat was like putting your head in an oven, it felt like I was burning.”

Dashcam footage shared online showed a column of fire from what appears to be an explosion, creating a massive fireball that shot into the sky.

Another video shared online showed a residential area covered in smoke while a huge fire blazed in the background. Singed trees and melted cars are also seen in the video.

Selangor Chief Minister Amirudin Shari said in a Facebook post that a temporary relief center had been set up at a nearby mosque.

He warned the public to stay away from the area affected by the fire while investigations and rescue work were being carried out.