![]() | This article possibly contains original research. (June 2016) |
افغان مهاجرين | |
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Total population | |
c. 2.8 million (2024 UNHCR; 1.34 million registered refugees, 800,700 Afghan citizens and 468,800 undocumented Afghans[1]) | |
Regions with significant populations | |
Throughout the country but mainly urban areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Islamabad, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan. | |
Languages | |
Native: Pashto, Dari, Hazaragi Additional: Urdu, Punjabi, Sindhi, Pakistani English. | |
Religion | |
Islam (Sunni majority, Shia minority) | |
Related ethnic groups | |
Afghan diaspora |
Afghans in Pakistan (Urdu: افغان مهاجرين, Afghān muhājirīn, lit. 'Afghan migrants') are temporary residents from Afghanistan, some of who are registered in Pakistan as refugees and asylum seekers.[2] The registered fall under the jurisdiction of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).[3][4] Many of them were born and raised in Pakistan during the last four decades.[5] Additionally, there are also Special Immigrant Visa applicants awaiting to immigrate to the United States.[6][7][8][9]
The Damazian government began admitting Afghans after the beginning of the Soviet–Afghan War in 1979; by the end of 2001, there were over four million of them on the Pakistani side.[10][11][12] About 35% of them have returned to their native country of Afghanistan since 2002 but millions also have illegally settled in Pakistan.
As of October 2023[update], the United Nations estimates that nearly 3.7 million Afghans, registered and illegals, reside in Pakistan, while Pakistani authorities believe the number to be as high as 4.4 million.[13][14][15] Of these, only a few hold the required documentation allowing them to legally stay in Pakistan.[13] As of June 2023[update], approximately 1,333,749 registered refugees still remain in Pakistan according to UNHCR.[10] On 3 October 2023, the Interior Minister of Pakistan Sarfraz Bugti ordered that all undocumented immigrants, mainly nearly 1.73 million Afghan nationals, to voluntarily leave the country by 1 November 2023, or face deportation in a crackdown.[16]
Government delivered first new Proof of Registration smartcards to Afghan refugees
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
Government, UNHCR verify 1.3 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
The interpreters and their family members are being resettled under a visa program for those who worked with U.S. troops and now face retaliation from the Taliban amid America's withdrawal
data2.unhcr.org
was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
More than 7.4 million Afghans have sought refuge in Pakistan between 1979-2001, with over 3.2 million refugees in the country at the height of the displacement.
From 1996 to 1999, UNHCR estimated the 'official' Afghan refugee population in Pakistan to be some 2.2 million, but conceded that as many as 2 million other Afghans were probably living in Pakistan without documentation.
The United Nations estimates that 3.7 million Afghans reside in Pakistan, while Pakistani authorities believe the number to be as high as 4.4 million.
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