A recent UNHCR factsheet has put the spotlight on the precarious situation of refugees and asylum-seekers in Pakistan, particularly those with high-risk profiles requiring urgent international protection. According to the report, approximately 110,000 refugees, including at least 8% of Proof of Registration (PoR) cardholders, face serious vulnerabilities that could qualify them for resettlement abroad.
The UNHCR’s resettlement programme in Pakistan—active since the 1980s—has already helped over 20,000 vulnerable refugees find safety in third countries. Following the dramatic shift in Afghanistan’s political landscape in 2021, there has been a renewed global push for resettling Afghan refugees. This has led to expanded resettlement quotas, with the United States emerging as the top destination, taking in more than 10,800 Afghan refugees. Other key resettlement countries include Australia, Canada, the UK, New Zealand, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Italy.
Notably, while several diplomatic missions in Pakistan have established their own “Safe Passage” initiatives to evacuate Afghan nationals linked to their embassies, these efforts fall outside the UNHCR’s broader resettlement framework.
The agency underscored that resettlement remains a critical lifeline, prioritizing the relocation of survivors of violence, at-risk women and children, and individuals with serious medical issues.
However, the challenges for refugees—and for Afghanistan itself—are intensifying. The International Federation of Red Cross (IFRC) warns that Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis is worsening due to a massive influx of returnees, driven in part by Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP). Between March and April this year alone, more than 300,000 Afghans returned from Pakistan and Iran, straining already fragile services in Afghanistan.
In April, Pakistan deported nearly 30,000 Afghans, while Iran’s policy changes forced over 170,000 to cross back into Afghanistan. Combined with severe drought, ongoing internal displacement, and an economic collapse, these forced returns are putting Afghanistan’s border regions and urban areas under “extreme pressure,” according to the IFRC.
In response, the IFRC has launched an emergency appeal for 25 million Swiss francs to provide urgent and longer-term support. Yet the scale of the crisis underscores a broader issue: the urgent need for robust international cooperation to ensure that those most at risk receive the protection they need—whether through resettlement or improved conditions in Afghanistan and neighboring countries.
