Pakistan has decided to close 16 refugee camps in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Balochistan and Punjab as part of its ongoing effort to repatriate Afghan migrants, local media reported.
The closures are part of a government program to return more than 1.3 million Afghans holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. The program began Sept. 1, according to Pakistan’s Ministry of States and Frontier Regions.
The designated camps include facilities in Haripur, Chitral and Upper Dir in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa; Chagai, Loralai, Killa Saifullah, Pishin and Quetta in Balochistan; and Mianwali in Punjab.
The camps were originally set up in the early 1980s to host Afghans fleeing the Soviet invasion.
Abdul Samad, a representative of the Panian camp in Haripur, which hosts about 13,000 families and more than 90,000 refugees, said local officials had instructed him to prepare for evacuation in line with government policy. He added that, so far, there has been no pressure or arrests to force people out.
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Khan Gandapur has repeatedly stressed that no Afghan will be forced to return.
Still, the U.N. refugee agency expressed concern, emphasizing that repatriation must be voluntary, gradual, safe and dignified.
“Individuals who need international protection or have humanitarian considerations must be safeguarded against forced returns,” said Qaiser Khan Afridi, UNHCR spokesperson in Pakistan.
Afghan refugees have also complained about high transport costs. Gada Ali Khan Zadran, a representative at the Mianwali camp, said the cost of moving household goods had doubled from 300,000 to 600,000 rupees, and trucks were increasingly hard to find.
According to the United Nations, as of the end of June 2025, more than 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees remained in Pakistan, over half of them in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, 326,584 in Balochistan and 195,188 in Punjab.