Families are divided while Pakistan deportes thousands of Afghan refugees

Every night in Karachi, a loud city of Pakistan, Fatima Bibi goes to bed in fear. Voice of the sirens from the police from the streets abroad makes it anxious. She wonders whether a blow to the door may tear her family.

Her husband, Sherza, Afghan refugee. His family fled the conflict in Afghanistan when he was just a boy, in 1992, and Pakistan was the only house he knows. The family of Mrs. Bibi has long been hoping that despite the unrelated situation of Mr. Zada, his close relationships with the country and marriage to a Pakistani citizen will eventually help him secure permanent residency, if not citizenship.

But for the Pakistani government, it is official time to leave Mr. Zada.

March 31, A deadline imposed by the government Several Afghans have expired in Pakistan to find another country of shelter. Those who do not have a legal status remain in Pakistan, such as Mr. Zada, are now facing a return. Less than three weeks after the end of the deadline, the Pakistani Minister of State for Interior announced, at a press conference, that more than 80,000 Afghans have already been expelled.

Refugee deportations can be subject to risky conditions under the hands of the Taliban heavy rule in Afghanistan. And if they are married to the Pakistani, this may mean leaving their families behind them.

“What will happen to my children while I was taken away?” Mrs. Bibi said.

The Afghan deportation campaign coincides with a recovery struggle with India, the East Pakistani neighbor and Archrival. India has Almost all Pakistani citizens have ordered to leave The country, is part of its response to A terrorist attack in Kashmir It is linked to Pakistan. The Pakistani government, which denies any involvement in the attack and requested an international investigation into it, responded by canceling the visas of most Indian citizens.

Pakistan’s campaign against Afghans follows years of tightening restrictions on Afghan residence. The recent United Nations reports indicate that more than 910,000 Afghans have been deported since September 2023.

The deportation operations have been greatly stimulated due to the frustration of officials from the Taliban government, which they accuse of accusing the Pakistani militants responsible for deadly attacks inside Pakistan. The Taliban denies these allegations, but the tensions are still rising.

The Pakistan Army said on Sunday that he had it 54 gunmen killed In an attempt to infiltrate the country from Afghanistan for two previous nights. Pakistan said the gunmen were “horse” – a term often used by Pakistani Taliban.

The Pakistani government has also been encouraged by a wave of anti -migrant feelings worldwide. It attracted similarities with recent deportation efforts in the United States and various European countries to justify their own campaign.

Among the Afghans who face deportation in Pakistan are those who arrived after the Taliban seized power in August 2021 and are now waiting for resettlement in Western countries, including the United States. Pakistan has extended the deadline for transferring it to another country to Wednesday, after which they will face the deportation again.

Their fate became increasingly uncertain in January when President Trump issued an executive order Comment all the admission refugees To the United States. The decision left thousands of Afghans They were cut off in Pakistan With no clear shelter.

In October 2023, during Wide -scale effort earlier To expel the unconventional Afghans, Mr. Zada ​​was arrested. Narrow was deported until after Mrs. Bibi’s father pushed a bribe at the last minute to secure his release.

this year Renewable deportation campaign Mr. Zada ​​and his family forced their house to leave. The father of Mrs. Bibi gave them a shelter, and put himself in danger. At the press conference this month, Mr. Chaudhry warned of strict repercussions on anyone who helped Afghans to stay in the country illegally.

Rights groups say that the ordeal of refugees, such as Mr. Zada ​​- Afghan married to Pakistani citizens – is one of the most ignorant aspects of the Pakistani deportation motive.

Although official statements on this issue are not available, rights groups such as the Joint Action Committee for Refugees, the Pakistani Civil Society Network, estimated that thousands of Afghan marriages have occurred. It is especially common in parts of Khayber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, the Pakistani provinces that share the porous boundaries with Afghanistan.

Such weddings are often made through tribal customs or informal community ceremonies. Despite social recognition, unions lack official documents often, such as marriage certificates, which makes it difficult for the Afghan husband to obtain legal or sexual residency.

Even in major cities such as Karachi, Afghans with Pakistani spouses often face obstacles to the official registration of their marriages or the birth of their children.

According to the National Database and Registration Base, or Nadra, foreign husbands for Pakistani citizens are qualified to obtain a Pakistan origin cardAnd that would give them an entry free of visas and the right to survive indefinitely and possess property. But many Afghan applicants are deprived of the card.

Legal experts told Mr. Zada ​​that his marriage to Mrs. Bibi gives him a chance, if he was little, to stay in Pakistan legally. But the long process and high fees are very expensive. Mr. Zada ​​said only $ 3 a day.

Some Pakistanis married Afghan turned into elimination to alleviate bureaucratic obstacles. In July, a court in Khyber Bakhtongua ruled in favor of 65 returns, confirming that their Afghan husbands were eligible to obtain a double citizenship. But such cases are not common.

The authorities have deliberately strengthened the perception that refugees had few options to obtain legal or citizenship, despite constitutional guarantees and many rulings from the higher courts.

Mr. Gilani said: “The main problem lies in the implementation of the irregular and incomplete government of current guarantees, and not in the same laws,” said Mr. Gilani.

Refugee rights activists also say that it rarely blocks the origins of the applicants who qualify, and often indicate the need to rid of the intelligence agencies in Pakistan. Officials rarely refused to comment on these allegations.

The Pakistani authorities remain firmly committed to the deportation campaign. Officials say that all uncomfortable Afghans should leave the country and re -enter valid visas, regardless of marital or family ties. But current immigration restrictions can almost make it impossible to secure visas after they leave.

Mocaram Shah, an unsuccessful Afghan immigrant married to a Pakistani woman, lived on the outskirts of Quetta, about 70 miles from the Afghan border. In December 2023, he was arrested by the police while working as a porter in a local plant market.

His family said, without any legal procedures, Mr. Shah was transferred directly to the Shaman crossing and was deported to Afghanistan.

“We were unable to say a good farewell,” said his wife, Wawsha, who, like many women from Pakistan, said one name.

Her family, noting the security and economic concerns, refused to allow her to follow her husband, believing that he would return with a long -term visa. But in light of the current campaign of Afghan refugees, this hope fades.

“Every night, my children ask when their father will return to the house,” she said. “I don’t have an answer. All I can do is pray.”