Pakistan urged to identify, protect thousands of at-risk Afghans -sources

Afghan refugee men stand in queue for documentation as they are returning home, after Pakistan gives the last warning to undocumented immigrants to leave, outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) repatriation centres in Azakhel town in Nowshera, Pakistan October 30, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) -Western embassies and the United Nations are urging Pakistan to incorporate into its plan to deport hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants a way to identify and protect Afghans who face the risk of persecution at home, officials told Reuters.

Pakistan has set Nov.1 for the start of the expulsions, which could leave more than 1.7 million Afghans vulnerable in the South Asian nation, of a total of more than 4 million migrants and refugees from its neighbour.