Pakistani authorities arrested 517 Afghans in the week from October 11 to 17, 2026, according to a joint report by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR). Most of those held were undocumented Afghans or holders of the Afghan Citizen Card (ACC), who together made up 97% of arrests and detentions. In the same week, the agencies estimate that 3,883 Afghans went back to Afghanistan.
Arrests and detentions
The report says about 56% of arrests and detentions took place in Balochistan, 34% in Punjab and 10% in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa. Holders of Proof of Registration (PoR) cards made up the remaining 3%. The provincial split is not fully consistent across the material, because one passage names Sindh among the areas covered while the percentages refer to Punjab.
The report also notes that no data was collected on arrests and detentions of ACC holders or undocumented Afghans before 2023. IOM began gathering that information in January 2023.
Returns and deportations
Between October 11 and 17, the agencies recorded 3,883 returns through the Torkham, Chaman and Bahramcha crossings, of which 499 were deportations. In the previous week, October 4 to 10, there were 4,295 returns, including 961 deportations. Total returns fell by about 10% and deportations fell by 48%, and the report describes the drop in deportations as significant and the fall in returns as moderate.
Most of those who returned were undocumented (83%), followed by ACC holders (9%) and PoR holders (8%). Almost all deportees (99%) were undocumented. UNHCR processed most PoR returns through Voluntary Repatriation Centres, the report says.
Fear of arrest remained the main reason for return for undocumented people and ACC holders (95%) and for PoR holders (68%). The report counts 2,744,068 Afghans sent back from Pakistan from September 15, 2023 to October 17, 2026. Since April 1, 2025, it records 1,890,035 Afghan returns, of which 237,387 (13%) were deportations.
Timeline: what has happened so far
- January 2023: IOM begins collecting data on arrests and detentions of ACC holders and undocumented Afghans.
- September 15, 2023: the cumulative count of Afghans sent back from Pakistan starts, according to the report.
- April 1, 2025: the count of returns since this date begins, showing 1,890,035 Afghans returned by the report's latest figures.
- October 4 to 10, 2026: 4,295 returns, including 961 deportations.
- October 11 to 17, 2026: 517 arrests and 3,883 returns, including 499 deportations.
Aasan alfaaz mein
Is hafte Pakistan mein 517 Afghan shehriyon ko giraftar ya hirasat mein liya gaya, jin mein zyadatar bina dastavez the. Ek hafte mein 3,883 Afghan Torkham, Chaman aur Bahramcha ke raste wapas gaye, aur deportations pichle hafte se 48 fisad kam huin. Report ke mutabiq wapas jaane wale zyadatar logon ne giraftari ke dar ko wajah bataya. Aam logon ke liye yeh khabar dikhati hai ke dastavez ka masla abhi bhi sangeen hai, aur iska asar gharon aur kaam ki jagahon tak pohanch sakta hai.
