UN human rights experts on Friday called on Pakistan to stop displacing Afghans from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and further urged authorities not to carry out deportations to Afghanistan.

The UN experts urged the Pakistani government to continue its role as a neighboring host country for Afghan refugees. The experts stated: “We urge Pakistan to immediately stop mass internal relocations, deportations, arrests, evictions, intimidation, and other pressures on Afghans to cross the border into Afghanistan, and to uphold the absolute and non-derogable principle of non-refoulement.”

At least 1.6 million Afghans have arrived in neighboring host countries since 2021, primarily relocating to Pakistan and Iran. In September 2023, however, the government of Pakistan announced a repatriation plan to return “illegal foreigners.” In response, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) issued a joint statement in October 2023, urging Pakistan to maintain protection space for Afghans in need of safety.

The UNHCR and IOM also expressed concerns about serious protection risks for those who are forcibly displaced, particularly women and girls, amid the severe humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan. They continued to call on all countries to stop the forcible displacement of Afghans and to ensure safe returns.

Since coming to power in 2021, the Taliban has imposed severe restrictions on women’s and girls’ rights in Afghanistan, including bans on education and attire. In February, UN Special Rapporteur on the human rights situation in Afghanistan Richard Bennett said:

Afghans, particularly women and girls, and ethnic and religious minorities, marginalised communities, journalists, and human rights defenders, face daily repression under a system designed to silence, control, and punish … These expanding restrictions amount to institutionalised persecution, which may constitute crimes against humanity.”