The government of Pakistan has set a deadline of March 31 for the deportation of over one million Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and hundreds of thousands of undocumented Afghan nationals. Meanwhile, individuals holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, totaling 1.3 million, have been given until June 30, 2025, to remain in Pakistan. The highest number of ACC holders reside in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa with 1.1 million, followed by Balochistan with 600,000, Punjab with 300,000, and Sindh with 150,000.
According to data provided to Azaad English by the Afghan Commissionerate, 1,304,650 Afghan nationals in Pakistan hold PoR cards. However, 145,716 additional family members of these cardholders remain unregistered but have been included in the total count, bringing the number of PoR-affiliated individuals to 1,450,366. The majority of PoR holders are in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, where 751,293 individuals reside, followed by Balochistan with 369,929, Punjab with 202,190, Sindh with 80,409, Islamabad with 42,033, and Azad Kashmir and Gilgit-Baltistan with 4,512. These individuals are permitted to stay in Pakistan until June 30, 2025.
The total number of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders in Pakistan stands at 813,010, including 434,148 men and 378,862 women. The largest population of ACC holders, 359,796 (44%), is in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, with 187,545 men and 172,251 women. In Balochistan, 266,376 (33%) ACC holders reside, including 147,187 men and 119,189 women. Punjab has 99,824 (12%) ACC holders, comprising 52,693 men and 47,131 women, while Sindh has 65,930 (8%), with 35,890 men and 30,040 women. In Islamabad, 17,576 (2%) ACC holders are present, including 8,938 men and 8,638 women. Additionally, 3,500 ACC holders reside in Azad Kashmir, and 8 in Gilgit-Baltistan.
The March 31 deadline applies to ACC holders and undocumented Afghan nationals, after which deportation proceedings will begin. Abbas Khan, a former commissioner of the Afghan Commissionerate in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, told Azaad Digital that an estimated 500,000 Afghan nationals are living in Pakistan without registration, though no government department has verified their exact number. After March 31, authorities will begin identifying undocumented Afghan nationals. In the first phase, individuals will be apprehended, transported to the border, and repatriated to Afghanistan.
According to UNHCR, from 2002 to 2024, a total of 4,450,029 Afghan nationals have voluntarily returned to Afghanistan with assistance.
