In a large-scale operation on Monday morning, Pakistani police forcibly evicted more than 200 Afghan refugee families—totaling over 1,200 individuals—from Argentina Park in Islamabad’s G-9 sector and relocated them to Haji Camp on the outskirts of the city.
Kabul 24: Refugees reported that police, equipped with anti-riot gear, entered the park and gave families only minutes to gather their belongings.
Many stated that officers explicitly warned them: “In a few days, a large number of you will be sent back to Afghanistan.”Most of these families fled Afghanistan after the Taliban regained power in 2021.
They possess valid UNHCR documents or Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), yet Pakistani authorities declared their prolonged stay in the public park “illegal.”The operation comes after the October 31 deadline for Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan (IFRP) and the voluntary return program (ILAP) expired, marking the start of the enforced deportation phase.
Local sources say Haji Camp is now being used as a final screening and holding center before forced returns, with many families fearing they will soon be transported by bus to Spin Boldak or Torkham border crossings.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not yet issued an official response to the incident, though it had previously warned against forced deportations that violate international protection principles.
Families now living in temporary tents at Haji Camp say their children are falling ill, winter weather is setting in, and they have no certainty about their future. This eviction is the largest single operation targeting Afghan refugees in Islamabad in recent months and has heightened fears of a second major wave of deportations across Pakistan
