UN rights experts call on Pakistan to axe plans for mass deportation of Afghans

FILE PHOTO: Muhammad Ismail, 40, sits with his family while they are waiting to cross main Afghanistan-Pakistan land border crossing, in Torkham, Pakistan September 15, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz/File Photo

GENEVA (Reuters) - UN human rights experts on Tuesday called on Pakistan to refrain from deporting Afghan nationals after Islamabad ordered all illegal immigrants, including 1.73 million Afghan citizens, to leave or face expulsion.

Pakistani authorities, who have given illegal immigrants until Nov. 1 to leave, linked the measures to their allegations that Afghan nationals were involved in several suicide bombings this year.