ISLAMABAD: Thousands of Afghan refugees who are awaiting resettlement to Western countries will be deported from Pakistan if their host nations do not relocate them by April 30, a key government minister saidon Thursday.

Amid calls for Pakistan to halt the deportation of Afghan nationals, State Minister for Interior Tallal Chaudhry also ruled out any extension in the deadline for the repatriation of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders, which expired on March 31.

At a press conference,the minister revealed that as many as 857,157 undocumented foreign nationals had sofarbeen sentback to their countries.

ACC holders had been asked to leave voluntarily by March 31, he said, adding that there would be no extension for them.

He also said that many individuals had been approved for resettlement by various third countries, but the process has been facing delays.

Mr Chaudhry said a uniform extension for such individuals was not possible, but individual cases based on `cogent reasoning` could be considered by the government. He said a one-document regime would be fully implemented, requiring valid visas and passports to enter Pakistan.

He recalled that the policy of repatriating illegal foreign nationals had been in effect since October 2023 and listed its phases: in the first phase, undocumented foreigners without legal documents were sent back. In the second phase, the Afghan Citizen Card holders are being repatriated, while in the third phase, those who have the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards will be deported.

He explained that the decision to expel these people was taken in light of current ground realities and security concerns. It had been observed that Afghan citizens were involved in narcotics trade and terrorisminPakistan,heclaimed.

Discussing arrangements to ensure the dignity of ACC holders, he claimed that all provinces, including Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan, were fully on board with this initiative.

He said that 38 transit points have been established in Punjab, three inKhyber Pakhtunkhwa, two in Sindh, three in Azad Kashmir, and one each in Balochistan, Islamabad, and Gilgit-Baltistan.

He said ACC holders were kept at these facilities before their onwards journey to Afghanistan, adding that they were being provided with shelter, food, medical care, and transport facilities.

Sharing the figure of the registered Afghan nationals, the minister said there were 815,247 Afghan Citizen Card holders, while 1,469,522 were registered under the POR programme.

Answering a question, he said a mechanism was in place to track and deport Afghans who were neither registered with the UNHCR nor awaiting resettlement to a third country.