ISLAMABAD, Oct 31 (Reuters) – Western embassies and the United Nations are urging Pakistan to incorporate into its plan to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants a way to identify and protect Afghans who face the risk of persecution at home, officials told Reuters.
Pakistan has set Nov. 1 for the start of the expulsions, which could leave more than 1.7 million Afghans vulnerable in the South Asian nation, from a total of 4 million migrants and refugees from its neighbour.
“We are asking the government to come up with a comprehensive system and … mechanism to manage and register people at immediate risk of persecution if forced to return,” Qaiser Khan Afridi, the spokesman for the U.N. refugee agency in Pakistan, told Reuters.
“Because they cannot return, they can’t go back to Afghanistan because their freedom or their life might be at risk.” (Reporting by Charlotte Greenfield; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)