By Admin 
Despite more than 1 million people returning home from Pakistan by 2025, more than 2 million Afghan refugees are still living there. ‘Dawn’ newspaper has given this report quoting data from the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHRC).
‘Dawn’ newspaper quoted agency data as saying that in the month of November alone, 1,71,055 Afghan citizens returned to their country, out of which 37,899 were deported through Chaman, Torkham and Barabacha borders. In the same month, more than 31,500 ‘Proof of Registration’ (POR) cardholders were also repatriated to Afghanistan through UNHCR’s repatriation centres.
In November, increased tension along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border hampered humanitarian aid operations and cross-border movement remained restricted. Due to this, United Nations agencies had to temporarily withdraw from the Chaman border area.
Despite stringent implementation of the third phase of the ‘Illegal Foreign Repatriation Plan’ (IFRP) in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP), UNHCR and its partners ensured essential services. These include the restoration of safe spaces for women, girls and children, as well as continuing legal and mental health support.
The Pakistan government started the IFRP scheme in September 2023, after which the return of Afghans started on a large scale. Undocumented Afghans and ‘Afghan Citizenship Card’ holders were targeted in the first (September 2023) and second (April 2025) phases of the plan. By July 2025, more than 11 lakh Afghans had returned from urban areas and refugee villages under these phases.
So far, about 1.66 lakh ‘POR’ cardholders have returned in the third phase, which started in September 2025. Since the beginning of the scheme, a total of more than 18.2 lakh Afghans have returned home. A total of 171,055 Afghans returned home during November this year, including 37,899 officially registered deportation cases.
The government has canceled official recognition of all 54 refugee villages in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab provinces and is continuously urging Afghans to return to their country. Meanwhile, UNHCR is lobbying the government to exempt students enrolled in universities from the scheme. Although no formal policy has been issued yet for students, currently university students are being exempted from this process.