Deadline Looms for Afghan Citizen Card Holders to Exit Pakistan

The Pakistani government has set March 31, 2025, as the deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to voluntarily leave the country. This move, part of a broader plan to repatriate illegal foreigners, follows ongoing tensions with Kabul and affects over 800,000 documented Afghan refugees.

The Pakistan government is enforcing a March 31, 2025 deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to voluntarily exit the country, as revealed in an official document leaked on Friday night.

The document outlines a plan to relocate ACC holders from Islamabad and Rawalpindi back to Afghanistan in a multi-phase initiative affecting documented Afghan refugees, amidst strained Pakistan-Afghanistan ties.

With the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Programme active since November 2023, officials stress dignified treatment for returnees while signaling potential challenges for resettling Afghans awaiting relocation to the US following recent changes in US refugee policy.

(With inputs from agencies.)