Uyghur refugees of Pakistan faces deportation after Ramadan

"18 #Uyghur families, who have been living in Pakistan for several years are fearing deportation to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan or China, under a new directive by the Pakistani government," the World Uyghur Congress posted on X.

Approximately 100 individuals who had lived in Pakistan as refugees will face forceful deportation just after the month of Ramzan (April 9), according to a directive by the Pakistani administration, reported ANI.

The Uyghurs are a tiny part of a much larger group of 1.7 million Afghan refugees in the country that the Pakistani government announced last October it would deport following a series of suicide bombings blamed on Afghan groups, reported Radio Free Asia.

The Pakistani government decided in November 2023 to extend the stay of the Uyghurs for six months after the U.N. refugee agency intervened on their behalf, the news portal reported.

The Interior Ministry in February held a meeting to review the repatriation plan, which outlines three phases, starting with undocumented Afghan nationals, followed by Afghan Citizen Card holders and proof of registration holders.

The Uyghur families are registered as Afghan refugees and hold Afghan Citizen Cards.

They reportedly do not possess a passport or legal identity.

“Since they perceive us as Afghans, they intend to include us in this expulsion,” Turghunjan Muhemmet Tursun, a 32-year-old Uyghur born in Afghanistan whose parents sought refuge in Pakistan after the Soviet-Afghan War erupted in 1979, told Radio Free Asia.