ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan government on Friday announced that all Afghan nationals residing illegally in the country, including Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, must depart voluntarily by March 31 or face deportation starting April 1.
The ACC scheme, initiated in 2017, provided temporary legal status to undocumented Afghans in Pakistan. It differs from the Proof of Registration (PoR) system, which grants refugee status to Afghan nationals recognized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the Pakistan government.
Unlike PoR card holders, who are protected under international refugee frameworks, ACC holders were never formally recognized as refugees and were only granted temporary permission to stay.
The recent directive will primarily impact them along with other undocumented Afghan nationals, many of whom fled to Pakistan following the Taliban’s return to power in 2021.
“Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Program (IFRP) is being implemented since 1 November 2023,” the government’s statement, available on the Press Information Department’s website, said. “In continuation to Government’s decision to repatriate all illegal foreigners, national leadership has now decided to also repatriate ACC holders.”
“All illegal foreigners and ACC holders are advised to leave the country voluntarily before 31 March 2025,” it added. “Thereafter, deportation will commence [with effect from] 1 April 2025.”
The statement maintained Pakistan had granted sufficient time to these people to ensure their dignified return. It also added that the authorities would adopt a humane approach while carrying out the repatriation process.
“It is emphasized that no one will be maltreated during the repatriation process and arrangements for food and health care for returning foreigners have also been put in place,” the statement noted.
It pointed out that all those individuals who were staying in Pakistan would need to fulfil legal requirement and abide by the country’s constitution.
The Pakistan government launched the deportation drive against “illegal immigrants,” mostly Afghan nationals, in November 2023 after a string of suicide bombings in the country.
Officials in Islamabad cited security concerns for the decision, alleging that Afghan nationals had been involved in militant activities, including attacks on Pakistani civilians and security forces, a claim denied by Taliban authorities in Kabul.
Last year, the government also announced that Afghan citizens residing in Islamabad would require No Objection Certificates (NOCs) after alleging that many of them had participated in an anti-government protest led by former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s opposition party, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), which later turned violent.
The government’s directive will affect numerous Afghans in Pakistan awaiting resettlement to third countries, including the United States.
Many of them had assisted international forces and now fear retribution from the Taliban. However, recent policy changes under President Donald Trump’s administration have all but suspended US refugee admissions, leaving thousands in limbo.
Last month, the UNHCR and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which operates under the UN system, voiced concern over Pakistan’s directive requiring Afghan nationals to relocate from Islamabad and Rawalpindi or face deportation, urging the government to consider human rights standards in implementing the policy.
Pakistan orders undocumented foreigners, Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave by March 31
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Pakistan orders undocumented foreigners, Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave by March 31
- The government says it has already granted sufficient time to these people for their dignified return
- It maintains people who continue to stay in Pakistan must abide by the country’s constitution
Nearly 60,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan in two weeks— UN agency
- Pakistan last month set early April deadline for some 800,000 Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave country
- UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan who escaped to neighboring country to escape conflict
KABUL: Nearly 60,000 Afghans have been forced to leave Pakistan since the start of April, the International Organization for Migration said Tuesday, after Islamabad ramped up a campaign to deport migrants to Afghanistan.
“Between 1 and 13 April 2025, IOM recorded a sharp rise in forced returns, with nearly 60,000 individuals crossing back into Afghanistan through the Torkham and Spin Boldak border points,” the UN agency said in a statement.
“With a new wave of large-scale returns now underway from Pakistan, needs on the ground are rising rapidly — both at the border and in areas of return that are struggling to absorb large numbers of returnees,” said Mihyung Park, head of the agency’s Afghanistan mission.
Pakistan last month set an early April deadline for some 800,000 Afghans carrying Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) issued by Pakistan authorities to leave the country.
Families with their belongings in tow have crowded key border crossings of Torkham in the north and Spin Boldak in the south, recalling scenes in 2023 when tens of thousands of Afghans fled deportation threats in Pakistan.
The UN says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan, many having been there for decades, after fleeing successive conflicts in their country and following the Taliban’s return to power in Kabul in 2021.
Fitch upgrades Pakistan’s credit rating to ‘B-’ on improving deficits and reforms
- Upgrade reflects confidence that the country would implement structural reforms, says Fitch
- Shehbaz Sharif says improved rating sign of world’s growing confidence in Pakistan’s economy
KARACHI: Global ratings agency Fitch on Tuesday upgraded Pakistan’s foreign currency credit rating to ‘B-’ from ‘CCC+’ citing increased confidence in the country’s progress on narrowing its budget deficits, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif hailing it as a sign of the world’s growing confidence in Pakistan’s economy.
The upgrade reflects confidence that the country would implement structural reforms, supporting its International Monetary Fund (IMF) program performance and funding availability, Fitch said.
The agency said though ongoing global trade tensions could create external pressures on Pakistan, its low dependence on exports and market financing should mitigate risks.
“Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif welcomes the improvement in Pakistan’s economic rating by global credit rating company Fitch,” a statement by the premier’s office said.
“The improvement in the rating of Pakistan’s economy by international institutions is a manifestation of economic development and the confidence of the world community in Pakistan’s economy,” he added.
Sharif said his government is working “tirelessly” to further improve Pakistan’s economy.
Pakistan’s economy had been teetering on the brink of a sovereign default ever since inflation rose to a record high of 38 percent in May 2023 and reserves started declining rapidly.
However, Pakistan’s economy was provided breathing space thanks in part to a $7 billion bailout program from the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
In March, the IMF reached a new deal with Pakistan which could unlock $1.3 billion in cash.
Sharif’s government has vowed to implement the financial reforms, which include increasing the country’s tax base and privatizing loss-making entities to ensure sustainable growth.
Pakistan assembly speaker to attend upcoming Gaza conference in Turkiye
- Istanbul to host pro-Palestine conference for speakers of various Muslim countries on Apr. 18
- Pakistan parliament approved resolution on Monday condemning Israel’s bombardment of Gaza
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq announced on Tuesday he would attend an upcoming conference on Gaza being hosted this month by Turkiye and would present his country’s stance on Israel’s military aggression.
Turkish Parliament Speaker Numan Kurtulmus has invited his counterparts from Palestine, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Egypt, among other nations, to an Apr. 18 meeting of the pro-Palestine Parliamentary Speakers Group in Istanbul.
Speaking to reporters at a press conference, Sadiq said he had been invited by the Turkish parliament speaker to attend the conference.
“So, god willing, I will go there [to the conference] and say the hard truth about Gaza,” he said. “I will present Pakistan’s stance.”
Sadiq said Pakistan is raising the issue of Gaza with foreign delegations that arrive in the country similar to the way it raises the issue of the disputed Kashmir territory.
“It is very disappointing to see videos from there [Gaza] on what is happening there, the way people are being subjected to injustice,” he said. “It feels painful that maybe Islamic countries were not able to play our role the way we could have played it.”
Israel and Hamas agreed to a ceasefire in January that lasted eight weeks before Israel resumed the war last month.
The initial ceasefire agreement was meant to bring the sides toward negotiating an end to the war, something Israel has resisted doing because it wants to defeat Hamas first.
Since the ceasefire fell apart last month, Israel has blocked aid from entering Gaza and its forces have also seized swaths of the coastal enclave in a bid to ratchet up pressure on Hamas to agree to a deal more aligned with Israel’s terms.
Hundreds have been killed in Gaza since the ceasefire collapsed.
Pakistan’s parliament on Monday passed a unanimous resolution condemning Israel’s “heinous” wave of hostilities in the Palestinian territory, demanding an unconditional ceasefire in Gaza.
Pakistan mulls US oil imports to ease trade imbalance
- Pakistan said that it would send a delegation to the US in the coming weeks to negotiate new tariffs
- Countries are scrambling to find ways to lower their US tariff burdens, including buying more US oil and gas
KARACHI: Pakistan is considering importing crude oil from the United States for the first time to offset a trade imbalance that triggered higher US tariffs, according to a government source directly involved with the proposal and a refinery executive.
Countries are scrambling to find ways to lower their US tariff burdens, including buying more US oil and gas, as President Donald Trump’s sweeping import duties rattle economies and markets.
“It is one of the products being reviewed ahead of a delegation leaving for the US to talk about tariffs,” said a government source directly involved with the proposal to the prime minister to buy more US crude.
“It is under active consideration. We are exploring opportunities and the structure to do it, but the PM has to approve it,” he said.
Trump has imposed a 10 percent baseline tariff on all imports to the US and higher duties on dozens of other countries. Pakistan faces a 29 percent tariff due to a trade surplus with the US of about $3 billion, although that is subject to the 90-day pause Trump announced last week.
The refinery executive told Reuters that the idea is to buy US crude equivalent to Pakistan’s current imports of oil and refined products, or about $1 billion of oil.
The sources declined to be named as the proposal is in its preliminary stage.
Pakistan’s petroleum ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Pakistan imported 137,000 barrels per day of crude in 2024, mostly light grades from the Middle East, with Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates among its top suppliers, data from analytics firm Kpler showed. Oil imports amounted to $5.1 billion in 2024, data from Pakistan’s central bank showed.
In February, Saudi Arabia, through the Saudi Fund for Development (SFD), extended a $1.2 billion financing facility to Pakistan for the import of oil products for a year. The SFD has provided approximately $6.7 billion to Islamabad for oil products since 2019.
Before Trump’s partial tariff pause last week, Pakistan said that it would send a delegation to the US in the coming weeks to negotiate new tariffs.
Several big energy importers are looking to buy more from the US to ease trade surpluses.
Last Friday, Indian state gas firm GAIL India Ltd. issued a tender to buy a 26 percent stake in a US liquefied natural gas (LNG) project and import LNG, while Japan, South Korea and Taiwan have discussed participating in an LNG project in the US state of Alaska.
Uzbekistan Airways to launch direct flights between Tashkent, Islamabad from May
- Airline already operates bi-weekly flights between Tashkent and Lahore on Wednesdays and Fridays
- Uzbekistan Airways also exploring plans to introduce direct flights to Karachi in the near future, APP reports
ISLAMABAD: Uzbekistan Airways is set to launch direct flights between Tashkent and Islamabad starting May 24 in a “significant step toward enhancing bilateral connectivity,” state-run APP news agency reported on Tuesday.
The new route is expected to bolster people-to-people exchanges, trade and tourism between Uzbekistan and Pakistan, APP said, quoting the Uzbek Embassy in Islamabad. The airline already operates bi-weekly flights between Tashkent and Lahore on Wednesdays and Fridays.
“In the initial phase, the airline will operate weekly flights every Saturday,” the state news agency said.
“Discussions are currently ongoing with Pakistan’s Civil Aviation Authority to finalize the necessary logistical and regulatory arrangements. Subject to demand and operational considerations, the frequency of flights is expected to increase over time.”
In addition to the Tashkent-Islamabad route, Uzbekistan Airways is also exploring plans to introduce direct flights to Karachi, Pakistan’s largest city and economic hub, in the near future.
“The expansion of Uzbekistan Airways’ flight network is anticipated to offer greater convenience for travelers, while simultaneously contributing to increased tourism and stronger economic and cultural exchanges between Uzbekistan and Pakistan,” the APP report said.
