Pakistan speeds up Afghans' repatriation as deadline expires

Vehicles loaded with the belongings of Afghan nationals head back to Afghanistan, after Pakistan gives last warning to undocumented immigrants to leave, at the Torkham border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan, November 2, 2023. REUTERS/Fayaz Aziz

PESHAWAR, Pakistan (Reuters) -Pakistan opened more border centres on Friday to speed up the return of tens of thousands of undocumented Afghans, an official said, two days after a deadline to leave or face expulsion expired and ignoring pleas to give the plan a rethink.

Pakistan has brushed off calls from the United Nations, rights groups and Western embassies to reconsider expelling more than a million of 4 million Afghans in the country, saying they had been involved in Islamist militant attacks and crimes that undermined the security of the country.