Thousands of returns escaping the prospect of deportation, Afghanistan’s Taliban administration on Wednesday urged Pakistan to allow unauthorised Afghans in the nation more time to depart.
Taliban calls for more time: 1.7 million Afghans who, according to the Pakistani authorities, are living there unlawfully have until November 1 to either depart peacefully or face deportation.
“At the beginning of October, border officials in the cities of Torkham and Chaman reported that more than 130,000 individuals left Pakistan, causing traffic jams on both sides of the borders.”
The Taliban government expressed gratitude to Pakistan and other nations in a statement for taking in millions of Afghan refugees during the country’s decades-long conflict, but they also “asked them to not forcibly deport Afghans with little notice but to give them time to prepare.”
The Taliban government, which came to power in 2021, has called on Afghans to return home but has also criticized Pakistan’s actions, stating that tensions between Islamabad and Kabul are leading to the punishment of its citizens. They have requested additional time to leave.