‘Leaving empty-handed’: Afghan refugees in Karachi sell off years of savings ahead of deportation
KARACHI:(Web News) On an ordinary double-carriage road on the outskirts of Karachi, the hum of traffic gives way each afternoon to the bustling chaos of a makeshift market. Refrigerators, washing machines, fans, wardrobes and other household items are offered at throwaway prices.
For their Afghan owners, the sale is a painful necessity — a distress liquidation forced by uncertainty over their future in Pakistan amid an ongoing deportation drive.
“All this household stuff is not just things,” Muhammad Khan, a 32-year-old Afghan refugee, said. “These were … dreams we worked hard to fulfill. Now, we are being forced to sell them.”Born to refugee parents in a neighborhood called Afghan Basti on the outskirts of the city, Khan, 32, is among nearly 30,000 residents set to leave for Afghanistan in the coming week.
Pakistan launched a crackdown against illegal immigrants, mostly Afghans, in 2023, when its administration ordered all foreign nationals without valid documents to leave or face deportation.
The decision followed a string of deadly militant attacks that killed hundreds of people, with officials blaming Afghan citizens for involvement in multiple cases without providing evidence.
The authorities in Kabul denied Afghan nationals were part of the militant attacks and objected to their forced repatriation. However, Pakistan not only continued the deportations but also expanded the drive to include people with officially recognized status as refugees.
According to the International Organization for Migration and UN agencies, more than 860,000 Afghan nationals have left Pakistan since the plan began.
