Note: This article draws on Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and HE Abdul Jabbar Naeemi’s insights, reflecting the crisis as of April 2025
Rabia Noor Azhar
What if war erupts between Pakistan and India? Will we Pakistanis become refugees, fleeing our homes, and what will become of us? These gut-wrenching questions hit me hard after talking with Abdul Jabbar Naeemi, a fierce advocate for Afghan refugees and former governor of Afghanistan’s Laghman, Khost, and Maidan Wardak provinces.
As a Pakistani, I see the 3 to 4 million Afghans among us, struggling forced deportations, legal abandonment, and harsh propaganda, and I fear their nightmare could soon be ours. Naeemi’s words were sheer warning: a regional conflict could plunge both Afghans and Pakistanis into a humanitarian abyss. It’s high time for Pakistan, and the world to act before wars makes refugees of us all.
Pakistan has been a shelter for Afghans escaping wars since 1979, from the Soviet invasion to the Taliban’s 2021 takeover. With around 1.3 million holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, 850,000 with Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), and 1.7 million undocumented, Afghans have woven their lives into ours, especially in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan.
But somehow the government’s “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan” since October 2023 has torn many families apart, deporting over 783,000 Afghans, depriving of their assets, and limiting them to just 50,000 rupees (approximately $175) per family. Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International uncovers panics.
Abdul Jabbar Naeemi, former governor of Afghanistan’s Laghman, Khost, and Maidan Wardak provinces.
These violate deportations, the global rule against sending refugees to danger. Naeemi called this a backing out of Pakistan’s legacy of hospitality—a legacy we risk losing. Naeemi warned that these deportations, forcing Afghans back to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan, where women, journalists, and ex-officials face torture or death. What would happen to them?
Now, imagine a Pakistan-India war. The 2019 Balakot clash showed how fast tensions can erupt between these two nuclear powers. Conflict could reck our northwest, displacing millions of communities. But what about us Pakistanis? We could be running too—across borders, where? to Iran or Afghanistan, or into overcrowded camps within Pakistan. In 2016, Afghan border clashes sparked anti-Afghan crackdowns. A bigger war could leave us displaced, in need for refuge, just like the Afghans we now push away.
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Hate-fueled propaganda worsens it. Some Pakistani media and officials, paint every Afghan as criminals or terrorists, ignoring their peaceful four-decade presence. Naeemi said this social media-driven venom risks ignite mob violence, especially in war’s chaos, where Pashtun Afghans and Pashtun Pakistanis, like me, could be targeted. If we become refugees, will we might face the same lies, branded as threats in foreign lands?
Legally, Afghans are trapped in a nightmare. Pakistan, not bound by the 1951 Refugee Convention, flouts global norms. The UNHCR can’t keep up, leaving 600,000 post-2021 Afghan arrivals suspended. Even PoR cardholders face deportations. Naeemi fears war would shred these fragile protections. If Pakistanis flee, who will welcome us, or will we, too, be undocumented, harassed, and rejected?
The human cost is overwhelming. Deported Afghans land in a country with around 28 million starving and children malnourished. A survey shows 99% of returnee families can’t eat for a month, two-thirds of children are out of school. Extreme weather traps them in tents with no aid. Naeemi called this a kind of death sentence. If war upends Pakistan, will we face the same, penniless, banned from working, forgotten in camps?
The world’s response is embarrassing. Naeemi demanded they should step up the aid for refugees. If Pakistanis become refugees, will we be ignored, too?
Pakistan, the UN, and the world must:
– Stop deportations and detentions, honouring non-refoulement.
– Fix asylum processes and speed up resettlement.
– Rush aid to Afghan returnees and those here.
– Shut down hate propaganda to save innocent Afghans
Naeemi’s words shook me: Afghans’ suffering today could be our warning for tomorrow. War could make refugees, leaving everyone homeless. Neighbours must choose compassion, and the world must back us before conflict engulfs our region. Act now, or we’re next.
