ISLAMABAD: Chagai and Quetta in Balochistan, and Attock in Punjab, recorded the highest number of arrests and detentions of Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders and undocumented Afghan nationals during the first ten months of 2025.
The report notes an important rise in arrests this year, with 100,971 Afghan nationals taken into custody between January 1 and November 8, 2025.
This indicates a substantial increase from 9,006 detentions in 2024 and 26,299 in 2023. Prior to 2023, no systematic data on arrests of ACC holders or undocumented Afghans was available.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) began collecting such data in January 2023.
Furthermore, between November 2 and 8 alone, authorities arrested 13,380 Afghan nationals, representing a 72 per cent jump from the previous week.
In addition, ACC holders and undocumented Afghans accounted for 76 per cent of all arrests, and Proof of Registration (PoR) holders constituted 24 per cent.
Balochistan and Punjab together accounted for 84 per cent of the detentions, with 41 per cent reported from Balochistan and 43 per cent from Punjab.
Moreover, from September 15, 2023, to November 8, 2025, an estimated 1.72 million Afghans returned to Afghanistan. During November 2–8, a total of 55,768 returnees crossed back through the Torkham, Ghulam Khan, Chaman, Badini and Bahramcha border points. Returns rose by 49 per cent and deportations by 75 per cent compared to the previous week.
The reopening of the Torkham border on November 1 contributed to the surge, although the overall return figures remain below the peaks seen in late August and September.
However, most returnees during the period were PoR card holders (48 per cent), followed by undocumented individuals (43 per cent) and ACC holders (9 per cent). Since April 1, some 869,448 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan, including 115,159 deportees.
In the current year, the government issued several directives concerning Afghan nationals, including relocation instructions for those living in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, and measures targeting undocumented individuals, ACC holders and later PoR card holders.
