Afghans hiding in Pakistan live in fear of forced deportation

"I'm scared," Nabila sobbed. The 10-year-old girl's life is confined to a one-room dwelling in Islamabad and the dirt roads outside. She hasn't been to school since last December when the school decided to no longer accept Afghans without valid Pakistani birth certificates. But even if she could attend, Nabila says she wouldn't go.

"One day I was sick and took a leave of absence, and I heard that the police came looking for Afghan children," she cried, telling us that her friend's family had been sent back to Afghanistan. Nabila is not her real name – for safety reasons, all Afghan names quoted in this article have been changed.

The United Nations says that Afghans in Pakistan's capital, Islamabad, and neighboring Rawalpindi are facing a surge in deportations, arrests, and detentions. It is estimated that more than half of the country's 3 million Afghans do not have legal status. Afghans describe living in constant fear, with police raids occurring almost daily.

Some told the BBC they feared being killed if they returned to Afghanistan. This includes some families participating in a U.S. resettlement program that has been suspended by the Trump administration. UNHCR's representative in Islamabad, Philippa Candler, said Pakistan was frustrated with the lengthy resettlement process. The UN's International Organization for Migration (IOM) said 930 people were sent back to Afghanistan in the first half of February, double the number from two weeks earlier. At least 20% of those deported from Islamabad and Rawalpindi held UNHCR documents, meaning they were identified as people in need of international protection.

But Pakistan is not a signatory to the Refugee Convention and has previously said it does not recognize Afghans living in the country as refugees. The Pakistani government says its policy targets all illegal foreign nationals, and the deadline for leaving is approaching. For those without valid visas, the deadline has been changed to March 31, and for those with resettlement letters, the deadline is June 30. Many Afghans feel fear amidst the chaos, and they also say the visa application process is very difficult. Nabila's family believes they have only one option: to hide. Her father, Hamid, served in the Afghan army before the Taliban takeover in 2021. He broke down in tears, describing his sleepless nights.

"I served my country, and now I am useless. That job doomed me," he said. His family does not have visas and is not on the resettlement list. They told us that their calls to UNHCR went unanswered. The BBC has contacted the agency for comment. The Taliban government has previously told the BBC that all Afghans should return because they can "live in the country without fear." They claim these refugees are "economic migrants." But a 2023 UN report casts doubt on the Taliban government's assurances. The report found that despite the issuance of an amnesty decree, hundreds of former government officials and armed forces members have allegedly been killed.

The Taliban government's assurances are of little comfort to Nabila's family, so they choose to flee when the authorities get close. Neighbors provide shelter for each other as they all try to avoid returning to Afghanistan. UN statistics show that 1,245 Afghans were arrested or detained in Pakistan in January, more than double the number in the same period last year. Nabila says Afghans should not be forced to leave. "Don't drive Afghans out of their homes – we didn't come here voluntarily, we were forced to come here."

An atmosphere of sadness and loneliness pervades their home. "I had a friend here, and then she was deported back to Afghanistan," said Nabila's mother, Maryam. "She was like my sister, my mother. The day we separated was very hard." I asked Nabila what she wanted to be when she grew up. "A model," she said, looking at me seriously. Everyone in the room laughed, easing the atmosphere. Her mother whispered in her ear that she could do many other things, such as an engineer or a lawyer. Nabila's dream of becoming a model is impossible under the Taliban government. Due to their restrictions on girls' education, her mother's advice will also be unattainable.

Pakistan has long hosted Afghan refugees. But a surge in cross-border attacks has exacerbated tensions between the two countries. Pakistan accuses militants operating from Afghan territory of carrying out these attacks, but the Taliban government denies this. Since Pakistan launched the "Repatriation Plan for Illegal Foreigners" in September 2023, 836,238 people have been repatriated to Afghanistan.

In the current phase of deportations, some Afghans are being held at the Haji Camp in Islamabad. Ahmed is in the final stages of the U.S. resettlement program. He told us that when President Donald Trump suspended the program for review, it extinguished Ahmed's "last hope." The BBC has seen what appears to be his job offer from a Western Christian non-profit organization in Afghanistan.

A few weeks ago, he received a phone call while he was out shopping. It was from his three-year-old daughter. "My baby called and said, 'Daddy, come quickly, the police are here, the police are knocking on our door,'" he said. His wife's visa extension was still pending, and she was busy pleading with the police. Ahmed ran home. "I can't abandon them," he said, sitting in the van for hours as the police continued their search. His neighbor's wife and children continued to pour into the car. Ahmed began receiving calls from their husbands, begging him to take care of them. They had fled into the woods.

Ahmed said his family was held for three days in "unimaginable conditions," saying they were given only one blanket per family, one piece of bread per day, and their cell phones were confiscated. The Pakistani government says it ensures "that no one is mistreated or harassed during the repatriation process." We tried to enter the inside of the Haji Camp to verify Ahmed's claims, but were denied access by the authorities. The BBC contacted the Pakistani government and police for interviews or statements, but no one came forward.

Fearing detention or deportation, some families have chosen to leave Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Others told us they simply couldn't afford it. One woman, claiming she was in the final stages of the U.S. resettlement program, decided to move with her two daughters to Attock, 80 kilometers (50 miles) west of Islamabad. "I can barely afford bread," she said. The BBC saw a document confirming she had been interviewed by the International Organization for Migration in early January. She claims her family still witnesses searches occurring almost daily in her community.

A spokesperson for the U.S. Embassy in Islamabad said it is in "close communication" with the Pakistani government "regarding the situation of Afghan nationals in the U.S. resettlement pathway." Outside the gates of the Haji Camp, a woman was waiting. She told us she had a valid visa, but her sister's visa had expired. Her sister is now being held in the camp with her children. Officials are not allowing her to visit her family, and she is very afraid they will be deported. She began to cry, "If my country was safe, why would I come to Pakistan? Even here we cannot live in peace." She pointed to her daughter sitting in their car. She used to be a singer in Afghanistan, where there is a law that women cannot be heard speaking outdoors, let alone singing. I turned to her daughter and asked if she was still singing. She stared blankly. "No."