This report describes the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The report revises the previous EASO COI report Pakistan – situation of Afghan refugees, released in May 2020. It specifically covers developments between 1 May 2020 and 17 March 2022.
The report consists of three main chapters. The first chapter describes the general background of Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
The second chapter of the report examines the legal status of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan and describes the documentation process of registered and unregistered Afghan refugees.
The third chapter provides information on socio-economic situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan according to their legal status.
This report was drafted by ACCORD, the Austrian Centre for Country of Origin and Asylum Research and Documentation.
The following national asylum and migration departments reviewed this report:
- The Netherlands, Office for Country Information and Language Analysis, Ministry of Justice (OCILA);
- Slovak Republic, Department of Documentation and Foreign Cooperation, Ministry of Interior;
- France, Office for the Protection of Refugees and Stateless persons (OFPRA), Information, Documentation and Research Division (DIDR);
- Germany, Federal Office for Migration and Refugees (BAMF), Country Analysis.
The following external expert reviewed this report: Zia Ur Rehman is a Pakistan-based journalist and researcher on Pakistan, writing extensively for the New York Times and as a senior reporter with the News International (Pakistan’s English newspaper).
The first draft of this report was finalised on 17 March 2022. Some additional information was added during the finalisation of this report in response to feedback received during the quality control process, until 12 April 2022.
This report was written according to the EASO COI Report Methodology (June 2019).
Policy
The security and human rights situation in Pakistan is problematic. Many citizens of Pakistan are being exposed to ethno-political or sectarian violence and the Pakistani authorities are often unable or unwilling to offer protection. The violence in Pakistan can be mainly attributed to terrorist organisations that are active in the country. These organisations primarily target members of the security services and the army, members of religious minorities and the police. In addition, Pakistan sometimes sees large-scale attacks aiming to cause a maximum number of casualties within a specific community. Religious minorities, primarily Shi’a Muslims, are generally targeted. However, such attacks are rather the exception than the rule. The security situation in the country is further influenced by flares of violence between extremist elements and government troops in the north-west of the country as well as by the nationalist uprising in Baluchistan.