United Nations/Geneva: UN experts on Friday called on Pakistan not to proceed with plans to forcibly deport Afghans and immediately stop mass internal relocations, arrests and evictions, intimidation and other pressures on them to cross the border into Afghanistan.

The UN experts urged Pakistan not to proceed with plans to forcibly remove Afghans from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi, nor to deport them to Afghanistan.

“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,” they said.

The experts expressed particular concern about the gendered and intersectional impact.

The UN experts have repeatedly spoken out against Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan of September 2023, which has already pressured hundreds of thousands of Afghans to uproot their lives and return to Afghanistan.

A statement issued in Geneva said that the deadline for their voluntary departure was set for March 31, but some local reports said it may have been extended until April 10.........

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