Afghans demand Pakistan’s government halt deportations

By Jürgen Klute (updated on 21 April 2025)

On Easter Sunday this year (20 April 2025), between 5 and 7 p.m., around 60 to 70 people gathered on Place Luxembourg, directly in front of the European Parliament building in Brussels. The demonstrators, most of whom were from Afghanistan, had come to protest against the Pakistani government’s threat of deportation.

Behind this is a conflict that has received little attention in Europe. Between one and one and a half million refugees from Afghanistan live in Pakistan. Many of them have been living in Pakistan for decades. They fled the Soviet army, which occupied Afghanistan from 1979 to 1989. Accordingly, the former refugees have been building a new life and putting down roots in Pakistan for a long time, and the younger ones were born in Pakistan, according to Said Hazzat Sadaat, one of the organisers.

The organisers accuse the Pakistani authorities of recently subjecting Afghan refugees to arbitrary arrests, detentions, harassment, looting and confiscation of property, as well as mass expulsions to Afghanistan – which, given the current Taliban regime in Afghanistan, is simply unacceptable for many. They point out that these measures constitute a serious violation of international human rights and refugee protection as enshrined in the 1951 Refugee Convention and the 1967 Protocol. Although Pakistan is not an official signatory to these documents, Sadaat says, Pakistan is nevertheless morally bound by these regulations.

But why then a demonstration in front of the European Parliament?

Pakistan is classified as a developing country by the European Union (EU). The EU grants developing countries that are committed to sustainable development and good governance a special trade status known as GSP+ status – Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus. Pakistan is one of a small group of countries that have been granted this status by the EU. In return, the participating countries – including Pakistan – commit themselves to complying with 27 international agreements on human rights, labour rights, environmental protection and good governance.

In view of the systematic human rights violations, particularly against vulnerable Afghan refugees and ethnic and religious minorities (Mufti Munir Shakir) by the Pakistani authorities, maintaining Pakistan’s APS+ status undermines the credibility of the EU’s human rights framework, according to a statement issued by the organisers of the demonstration. Therefore, Sadaat continued, the demonstrators called on the European Union to review Pakistan’s APS+ status and suspend it immediately.

The demonstrators expressly addressed this demand to both the European Commission and the European Parliament.

At the same time, they called on the Pakistani government to ensure humane treatment of all refugees within Pakistan’s borders.

The demonstrators called on the international community, including the United Nations, donor countries and human rights organisations, to put pressure on Pakistan to comply with international standards and immediately stop the looting and harassment of Afghan refugees.

The demonstration was called by the Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) Belgium (Movement for the Support of the Pashtuns).

Foto: Jürgen Klute