Pakistan Govt Shuts Down 3 Afghan Refugee Camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Cuts Off Essential Services

Last Updated:December 10, 2025, 21:19 IST

These camps at Panian, Padhana, and Basumira in the Haripur district had been established in the 1980s during the Afghan wars and housed approximately 65,000 Afghan refugees

The Pakistani government immediately closed the Afghan refugee camps and used force to deport residents, sending another 60,000 to the Torkham border without notice. (Image: AFP/File)

Using force to deport Afghan citizens and refugees amid border tensions with Taliban-ruled Afghanistan, the Pakistan government shut down three Afghan refugee camps in the restive Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province.

These three camps at Panian, Padhana, and Basumira in the Haripur district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been established in the 1980s during the Afghan wars and housed approximately 65,000 Afghan refugees.

The abrupt action by the government involved cutting off essential services like electricity as well as closure of four health facilities and 10 schools for the refugees. While the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government sought a more respectful and traditional repatriation process, the federal government immediately closed the camps and used force to deport the residents, sending another 60,000 refugees to the Torkham border without notice.

According to sources, local residents were directed not to show sympathy toward the refugees, while federal officials raided the camps and took action against those not complying with the strict orders. The sudden actions underscore the federal government’s directive to show “no mercy for Afghan refugees", they said.

The sources said the government’s inhumane treatment of Afghan refugees continues. This immediate and aggressive action contradicts the wishes of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial government, they added.

They said the provincial government had sought to manage the repatriation process in a respectful manner, adhering to traditional Pakhtoon customs. But the federal government bypassed the provincial request, choosing instead to close the camps immediately and using force to deport all Afghan citizens and refugees from Pakistan, they said. Government officials have been reported taking punitive action against both refugees and provincial government officials accused of not taking sufficiently strict action, they added.

Last month, a total of 10,405 Afghan citizens had reportedly returned to Afghanistan from Iran and Pakistan in a single day. There were other mass repatriations earlier that month as well.

Chagai and Quetta in Balochistan and Attock in Punjab were the top three districts across the country where most Afghan Citizen Card ACC holders or undocumented Afghan nationals were arrested or detained over more than 10 months this year, Dawn reported, citing a United Nations refugee agency assessment. The report stated that the highest number of arrests or detentions occurred in 2025, with 1,00,971 Afghans arrested from January 1 to November 8, 2025, compared to 9,006 Afghans detained in 2024 and 26,299 Afghans arrested in 2023.

According to the UNHCR report, before 2023, there was no data collected on the arrest and detention of ACC holders or undocumented Afghan nationals. Since January 2023, the Organisation for Migration IOM has been collecting such data.

(With agency inputs)

News world Pakistan Govt Shuts Down 3 Afghan Refugee Camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Cuts Off Essential Services

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