The Lawfare Podcast Lawfare Archive: Why Pakistan is Deporting Afghan Refugees with Madiha Afzal
Dec 21, 2025
Madiha Afzal, a Fellow at the Brookings Institution and expert on Pakistan-Afghanistan relations, discusses Pakistan's recent deportations of Afghan refugees, many of whom have lived there for generations. She reveals the complicated 45-year history between the two nations and how economic pressures and security concerns have driven this policy. Madiha argues that the Taliban's welcoming response is unlikely to sustain large returns and highlights the dire humanitarian challenges awaiting returnees in Afghanistan.
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Military Drives Deportation Policy
- Pakistan's caretaker, military-backed government is driving the deportation policy rather than popular electoral politics.
- The military uses refugees as a low-cost domestic issue with limited electoral backlash.
Decades-Long Refugee Presence
- Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees since 1979, shaped by the Soviet war and later U.S. involvement.
- Millions settled across generations, creating deep social and economic ties in Pakistan.
No Path To Citizenship
- Pakistan is not a party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and offers temporary registration, not a path to citizenship.
- Refugees live in legal limbo with renewable registration cards that limit long-term integration.