Pakistan has given a strong warning that Afghan refugees waiting to be resettled by the US may be deported if their requests are not accepted, adding to the uncertainty for thousands.
Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Ishaq Dar, in an interview with Turkish news organization TRT, said Pakistan would talk with the U.S. However, those refused relocation will be deemed illegals and escorted out.
If a country has turned down the offer of resettlement following the legal process, Pakistan cannot hold these refugees in indefinite detention, Dar underscored. 
Since the Taliban came back to power in August 2021, an incredible 600,000 Afghans fled to Pakistan, to avoid persecution. If 80,000 have been resettled, around 40,000 have been left stranded, many of whom had expected to resettle in the United States. But President Donald Trump’s recent moratorium of the U.S. Refugee Admissions Program has put thousands on hold.
On the other side, Pakistan’s anti-foreigners crackdown, started in November 2023, has led to deportation of more than 815,000 individuals already. Human rights groups are warning that sending Afghans back forcibly could put them into the gunsights of severe Taliban punishment.
With over 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the government has extended the legal stay permits for registered refugees until June 2025. But for thousands of unregistered Afghans in limbo while waiting for resettlement, time may be all but up.
