Pakistan’s decision to impose hundreds of dollars in exit fees for every Afghan refugee who fled the persecution by the Taliban has been condemned as “shocking and frustrating” by western diplomats and the UN.
The “unprecedented” move targets refugees who are waiting to leave Pakistan for western countries under resettlement schemes, and charges about $830 (£660) for each person.
It comes after Pakistan announced a crackdown on undocumented foreigners and declared 1 November was the deadline for about 2 million unregistered Afghans to leave the country. Pakistan started mass deportations of undocumented Afghans after the deadline passed.
Thousands of Afghans without the correct documents or with expired visas have been in Pakistan since the fall of Kabul in August 2021 waiting to restart their lives in countries in the west. Most of them worked with western governments and organisations and are eligible to be resettled on humanitarian grounds.
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