This footage was filmed and produced 23 November 2023.

The UN Refugee Agency is raising concerns over Pakistan’s announcement for undocumented foreigners to leave, as the orders have adversely affected Afghan nationals including registered refugees and others with valid documents.

Since Pakistan’s announcement of the plan on 3 October 2023, an estimated 374,000 people have returned to Afghanistan – mostly in fear and haste. We are witnessing an exponential increase in arrests, detentions and deportations of Afghans in Pakistan.

Mass arrivals back to Afghanistan are adding to the ongoing humanitarian crisis as winter temperatures start to dip – in some locations the minimum already reaching -4°C. Many Afghan returnees are vulnerable, including women and children who could lose their lives in a harsh winter if left without adequate shelter.

UNHCR has visited different locations in Pakistan in the past two weeks, meeting Afghans on the move and local authorities. Afghans interviewed in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province – known as KP – in the northwest, and Balochistan province in the southwest of the country, including registered refugees, said they were leaving in a rush, fearing arrest and detention. All registered Afghan refugees are exempt from the Government’s orders, but the announcement and follow-up actions, including reports of intimidation by local authorities and evictions by landlords, have created a sense of panic.