ISLAMABAD: Pakistan may resume its deportation drive against Afghan refugees from Monday after their Proof of Registration (POR) cards expire today, June 30.
POR cards are identification documents issued by Pakistani authorities to Afghan refugees that serve as official recognition of their legal status in the country, allowing them access to various services such as education, health care and banking.
The government extends these cards on a periodic basis, often depending on the political and security situations involving both countries.
It decided to extend these cards for two months in April amid rising international concerns of more Afghans being expelled after over 540,000 of them were sent home in the first deportation phase launched amid security concerns last November.
While the government has not yet issued a statement addressing the future of these refugees, the situation has once again stirred concern about Afghan nationals needing “international protection.”
“They’re refugees. They’re not involved in terrorist activities. They’re just people who fled and who need protection,” Philippa Candler, an Afghan refugee agency official in Pakistan, was quoted as saying by Al Jazeera.
Pakistan began its deportation drive against “illegal immigrants,” mostly Afghan nationals, after a surge of deadly suicide bombings which officials in Islamabad blamed on militants based in Afghanistan.
The authorities also blamed the Afghan administration in Kabul for facilitating these militants, a charge denied by Taliban officials, while blaming Afghan nationals in Pakistan for carrying out 14 out of 24 suicide attacks in the country.
Pakistani officials also warned that they would expel registered Afghan refugees from the country.

MUZAFFARABAD: Twenty detainees, some accused of terrorism, staged a prison break in Azad Kashmir on Sunday, officials told AFP, adding that one was “killed in the crossfire” during the escape.
“The inmates had a revolver that they used to hold a sentry hostage,” said Badar Munir, an official with the regional ministry of interior.
“It is unclear whether they seized it (the weapon) from jail officials or if it was brought in from outside,” Munir added.
The incident took place at the Poonch district jail in Rawalakot city, about 110 kilometers (68 miles) south of Muzaffarabad, the capital of Azad Kashmir.
“In total, 20 people escaped from the prison. One was killed in the crossfire, while 19 others remain at large,” the inspector general of Kashmir prisons, Waheed Ali Gillani, told AFP.
A senior local police official, Riaz Mughal, told AFP that police had blocked the entry and exit points of Rawalakot, and a search operation was currently under way to locate the escapees.
Prisons in Pakistan are notorious for overcrowding, poor conditions, corruption and human rights violations. Additionally, slow judicial processes contribute to prolonged stays for prisoners.
Militant groups have organized several mass jailbreaks in Pakistan in the past, including one in the northwestern town of Bannu in 2012 that sprung 400 prisoners.