Afghan refugees' status extended until end of year

Pakistani cabinet decides to push back Afghan refugees' legal right to
 stay in the country from March 31 to end of 2017.

Islamabad, Pakistan - Pakistan's government has
 extended a deadline for Afghan refugees to leave the
 country until the end of 2017, according to state
 media.

A meeting of the cabinet, presided over by Prime 
Minister Nawaz Sharif, on Tuesday pushed back the
 refugees' legal right to stay from the previous deadline 
of March 31, state- run APP news agency reported.

There are currently about 1.3 million registered Afghan
refugees resident in Pakistan, according to the United
 Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR).

Many fled violence in their country more than 30 years
 ago, during the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, with
 others fleeing the US-led invasion in 2001.

There are also about a million unregistered Afghan 
refugees present in the country, Pakistani officials say.

A recent crackdown by Pakistani authorities, citing 
security concerns, has seen a sharp rise in both 
deportations and voluntary repatriations of Afghan
 nationals from the country.

Last year, more than 600,000 Afghan refugees left Pakistan
 to return to their home countries, data from the UNHCR 
and the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
 shows.

For registered refugees, that number represents a more
 than six-fold increase from the previous year, according
 to UNHCR.

At least 22,559 Afghans were also deported by Pakistani
authorities in that period, IOM says.

Refugees and rights groups say increased harassment by
police and stricter restrictions on crossing and returning
 from Pakistan’s northwestern border with Afghanistan 
have been responsible for the rising numbers.

The cabinet meeting on Tuesday reaffirmed those tighter
controls on the border.

"It was also decided that the Afghans cross-border
 movement would now be regulated through the visa
 regime and their entry passes would be linked with it," reported APP.

In November 2015, US-based rights group Human Rights
Watch documented a campaign of abuse and harassment
 of Afghan refugees by Pakistani police, involving
 confiscation of their registration cards, bribes and raids
 on their homes.

Pakistani officials deny there is any such policy or
 campaign. Until last year, Pakistan regularly extended the Afghan refugees’ legal status in the country for at least 12 months every year. In June, however, an extension of only
 six months was offered until December 31, 2016.

The next extension lasted only three months, until March
 31, 2017.