Pakistan Ramps Up Afghan Expulsion Amid Border Hostility

Pakistan has escalated its campaign to expel hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees, announcing the closure of all 54 Afghan refugee villages nationwide, including those in Kohat.

This move directly affects long-settled families, many of whom, like Allah Meer (45), were born and raised in Pakistan after their parents fled the 1979 Soviet invasion.

Meer, who has lived in Pakistan his entire life, articulated the central dilemma, stating, "How can I uproot everything when we were born here, lived here, married here, and buried our loved ones here?"

The mass expulsion is taking place against a backdrop of heightened tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban-led Afghan government, including recent armed clashes along the border.

Despite a recent ceasefire agreement in Doha, families like Meer’s fear they are being used as diplomatic pawns in a broader conflict between the two neighboring nations.