Kabul, August 2, 2026 (Yes Punjab News)
Nearly 140,000 undocumented Afghan nationals have been deported from Pakistan’s Punjab province to Afghanistan as part of Islamabad’s ongoing campaign against foreign nationals lacking valid legal documents, according to official figures cited in media reports.
Punjab’s Home Department said that 139,902 Afghan migrants had been arrested and deported after completion of the required legal formalities. Authorities also stated that 248 Afghan nationals are currently being held in 39 detention centres and are expected to be repatriated through the Torkham border crossing once administrative procedures are completed.
Pakistan has continued its nationwide drive against undocumented foreign nationals, with Afghan migrants facing increasing difficulties in renewing visas and maintaining legal residency in recent months. According to official figures, around 2.66 million undocumented Afghan migrants have been deported from Pakistan over the past three years.
The enforcement campaign has also continued in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. In July, police detained 40 undocumented Afghan nationals in Charsadda as part of the ongoing operation against illegal foreign residents.
Charsadda Deputy Commissioner Azmatullah Wazir said the detainees were shifted to a holding centre in Peshawar, where legal and administrative formalities would be completed before their deportation through the Torkham border crossing. District Police Officer Rifatullah Khan said the total number of undocumented Afghan nationals transferred from Charsadda to the holding centre had reached 133.
Officials said the action was being carried out in line with the federal government’s policy on undocumented foreign nationals.
The current drive follows a directive issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior on June 28, ordering the immediate arrest of Afghan nationals found living in the country without valid visas from July 10 onward.
Pakistan first launched its large-scale deportation campaign in 2023 and expanded it in April last year after revoking hundreds of thousands of residence permits issued to Afghan nationals, warning that those without valid documentation would face arrest and deportation.
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