Pakistan’s State Minister for Interior Affairs Talal Chaudhry has confirmed that Pakistan has set a June 30 deadline for registered Afghan nationals, including Proof of Registration (PoR) holders, to voluntarily return to Afghanistan.

“After this, he said that formal deportation procedures will begin. Afghan refugees were and remain our guests. They are being sent back with full dignity and respect,” he told Geo News.

Pakistan is currently deporting illegal immigrants and Afghan Citizen Card holders, with thousands returning to their country daily.

Meanwhile, UNHCR’s spokesperson Qaisar Khan Afridi stressed that deportations must be voluntary, not forced.

Afridi also highlighted that the UNHCR has received complaints of arrests in parts of Punjab, even involving some documented Afghan refugees.

However, Chaudhry categorically denied such incidents, stating that no such case has been officially reported and that previous allegations turned out to be fake news upon verification.

He clarified that Afghan refugees who fail to leave within the stated deadlines are not immediately deported, but are first notified, and then taken to refugee holding centres where they are provided food, shelter, security, medical aid and travel facility.

“This is a structured, humane process. There is no chaos. Our hospitality has always been there for Afghan citizens,” Chaudhry emphasised.

With Pakistan suspending all trade with India, including to and from any third country through its territory, Afghanistan’s trade with India via the Attari-Wagah border has also come to a halt.

The latest tension between Pakistan and India was triggered by the killing of 26 men at a popular tourist destination in Indian Kashmir on Tuesday, in the worst attack on civilians in India since the 2008 Mumbai shootings.

Hindustan Times said on Friday that suspension of trade will affect the local economy, especially small traders and industries, whose livelihood largely depends on this trade.

Located around 28 kms from Amritsar city, this is the only permissible land route allowed for trade between India and Pakistan and crucial for imports from Afghanistan, according to the newspaper.

In August 2019, when India revoked Kashmir’s special status, Pakistan ceased all trade relations with India. The neighbouring country also barred India from exporting goods to Afghanistan, though the import of Afghan goods, such as dry fruits, remained normal, even after the Islamic Emirate took control over the country.

The Palestinian leadership approved the creation of the position of vice president of Mahmoud Abbas, and possibly his successor, on Thursday, a step widely seen as needed to assuage international doubts over Palestinian leadership.

A statement published by state news agency WAFA said 170 members of the Palestinian Central Council, the Palestinians’ highest decision-making body, voted in favour of the decision, while one member voted against it and another abstained, Reuters reported.

They have not immediately appointed someone to the role. According to the statement, Abbas has the right to assign tasks to the deputy, relieve him of his post, or accept his resignation.

Abbas, 89, has headed the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) since the death of veteran leader Yasser Arafat in 2004 but has for years resisted internal reforms, including the naming of a successor.

The Western-backed Palestinian Authority exercises limited rule in the Israeli-occupied West Bank and has not governed Gaza since fighting a civil war with Hamas in 2007.