Punjab has sent back 142,820 Afghans, 2.76 million from Pakistan in all

Punjab has repatriated 142,820 Afghan nationals who were living in the province without valid visas, the Punjab Home Department said on 19 September. Across Pakistan the total since the repatriation drive began now stands at 2,760,653.

The provincial figures come from the Home Department's Foreign National Security Cell, which runs the deportation machinery in Punjab.

Where things stand

• 142,820 repatriated from Punjab.
• 2,760,653 repatriated from Pakistan as a whole.
• 39 holding centres are operating in Punjab.
• 213 Afghan nationals were in those centres at the time of the update.

The department's working definition is straightforward: an Afghan national staying in Pakistan without a valid visa is treated as residing illegally. That covers people whose Proof of Registration or Afghan Citizen Card has lapsed as well as those who never held documents.

The province has also asked the public to report suspected illegal residence, identity fraud and related activity on the 15 emergency helpline.

What this means if you employ or rent to Afghan nationals

The practical exposure sits with landlords, employers and shopkeepers, not only with the people being deported.

• Renting a property to a foreign national without valid documents can draw action under the Foreigners Act. Keep a copy of the tenant's passport and visa page, and register the tenancy with your local police station where the province requires it.
• Employing someone whose visa has expired exposes the business to prosecution and the worker to detention.
• Identity documents. NADRA has been cancelling CNICs obtained on false particulars. If a family member's identity record is flagged, the correction route is a NADRA modification application, not a new registration.

The numbers behind the drive

The 2.76 million national figure covers every phase since the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan began in late 2023, and includes both people who left voluntarily ahead of deadlines and those removed through holding centres and border crossings at Torkham and Chaman.

Punjab's 142,820 is a small share of that national total, which reflects where the population has historically been concentrated: Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan carry far more of it than Punjab does.

The other side of the ledger

The crackdown runs alongside an active enforcement posture on the western border, and it is not frictionless. Earlier this week a five-month-old Afghan baby was allowed into Pakistan on humanitarian grounds after a case was raised publicly, a reminder that the visa rules are being applied case by case at the crossings.

For anyone with a pending Afghan visa matter, the relevant channels are the Ministry of Interior's visa system and the Commissionerate for Afghan Refugees in the province concerned. Nothing in the current drive changes the position of Afghan nationals holding a valid visa, a current Proof of Registration card or an Afghan Citizen Card that has not been cancelled.