The Taliban government accused Pakistan on Tuesday of violently expelling Afghans after Islamabad cancelled hundreds of thousands of residence permits, pressuring families across the border.
Islamabad announced at the start of March that 800,000 Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) would be cancelledthe second phase of a deportation programme which has already expelled around 800,000 undocumented Afghans.
"The mistreatment of them (Afghans) by neighbouring countries is unacceptable and intolerable," the Taliban Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said on X, calling for a joint agreement to facilitate repatriations.
An average of 4,000 Afghans crossed the border from Pakistan on Sunday and Monday, "far higher than the March daily average of just 77", the International Organization for Migration (IOM) told AFP.
The new phase in Pakistan's campaign to repatriate Afghans "could affect up to 1.6 million undocumented Afghan migrants and Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders during 2025", the agency said.
The United Nations says nearly three million Afghans live in Pakistan: 800,000 had their Pakistani ACC residency cards cancelled in April and 1.3 million still have residence permits until June 30 because they are registered with the UN refugees agency UNHCR. Others have no papers.
"It is with great regret that Afghan refugees are being subjected to violence," the Taliban refugees ministry said.
"All refugees should be allowed to take their wealth, belongings and household goods with them to their own country," it added.
"No one should use refugees as tools for their political goals."
Pakistan's interior ministry said it had issued "strict instructions" for the facilitation of Afghans' exits, including "that no one should be harassed in this process".
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