Pakistan has accelerated efforts to send irregular Afghan migrants back to their countries. According to Geo News, two top officials confirmed a directive allegedly sent from the Prime Minister’s Office outlining the repatriation of irregular Afghan migrants. According to the directive, holders of “Afghan citizen cards” given by Pakistan will be moved from the capital Islamabad and Rawalpindi to “another place” before being sent back to their countries. Afghans with “registration proof cards” will also be relocated outside Islamabad and Rawalpindi. The new locations for these individuals will be determined later as their stay rights in the country have been extended until June 30th due to final decisions. Additionally, individuals identified as “Afghan migrants with ties to third countries” will be relocated from Islamabad and Rawalpindi by March 31st and will be put in touch with foreign missions in the country for resettlement. If communication with foreign missions fails, these migrants will also be sent back to Afghanistan. The directive has been sent by the Pakistan Prime Minister’s Office to the ministries of interior and foreign affairs, as well as the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) agency. Wasim Akram, the Public Relations Officer for the Pakistan Ministry of Interior, and Muhammad Arshad Munir, Press Advisor to the Prime Minister’s Office, confirmed the accuracy of the directive’s contents. According to data from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are approximately 1.34 million Afghan refugees and 468,800 irregular Afghan migrants in Pakistan. Since 2023, more than 820,000 Afghan refugees have returned to their countries.