n a windy afternoon in the mountainous region of Shagai, in Landi Kotal, a sub-division of Khyber district located on the main Pak-Afghan Road that connects Nangarhar province of Afghanistan with Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, several Afghan refugees were seen transferring their belongings from one truck to another. A dispute had arisen with the truck driver over the fare. They were in a hurry, hoping to reach the Torkham crossing before nightfall.

These refugees, comprising two families, carried Afghan Citizen Cards. The federal government has issued orders to deport both undocumented Afghan nationals and those holding ACCs. In compliance with this directive, repatriation is currently under way.

These Afghan citizens had travelled from Gujrat in the Punjab. They said the government had given them a short deadline to leave so that they were forced to abandon well-established businesses and head back to Afghanistan with only a few possessions.

The two trucks were cluttered and disorganized. The luggage included beds, mattresses, trunks and miscellaneous household items. The women and children rested after a meal. The children, school bags slung over their shoulders, conversed in fluent Punjabi. Their faces bore clear signs of fatigue from the journey.

Asmatullah, a 40-year-old Afghan ACC holder, said he was returning to Afghanistan with 12 family members, including three women and four children. He says he was born in Pakistan. He says his family has lived here for 40 years.

“During the last week of Ramazan, police raided on our home in Gujrat,” he said. “We felt that life in Pakistan had become difficult and that returning to Afghanistan was in our best interest. I had to sell my motorcycle and loader at a loss. This is a painful moment for me and my family.”

He said he had borrowed money from some relatives to pay the truck fare to Afghanistan. From Gujrat to Torkham, the fare was Rs 100,000. “I worry about what lies ahead; we have no home in Afghanistan and no land to farm,” he said.

Thirty-five-year-old Niaz is repatriating to Afghanistan’s Paktia province with his family. “We didn’t celebrate Eid this year because we were consumed with the anxiety of leaving. I have six children. All of them have studied at government schools in Pakistan. I am deeply concerned about my daughter’s education. I fear that they might not be able to complete even the tenth grade in Afghanistan,” Niaz said.

To assist Afghan citizens seeking a dignified return, the government of Pakistan has established holding centres across the country. In Landi Kotal, one such centre has been set up next to the mausoleum of poet Amir Hamza Shinwari.

Another Afghan refugee shared his story: “I had lived in Gujrat with my family for several years. Business was good; my children were getting an education; and their future looked bright. But now we’re heading to a country where we have no home and where our daughters may never get an education.”

Niaz worried that the Taliban had reportedly banned girls’ education beyond grade five. He said he was deeply worried about the future of his daughters.

He added, “It was no longer possible for us to remain in Pakistan. We were tired of police raids. Leaving in dignity is in our best interest. That is why we’ve made this decision,” Niaz said.

To assist Afghan citizens seeking a dignified return, the government of Pakistan has established holding centres across the country. In Landi Kotal, one such centre has been set up next to the mausoleum of poet Amir Hamza Shinwari. It is a vast open field and there is no shade. There is a lot of parking space in front of the centre. Here, NADRA officials register Afghan nationals before they are transported to the Torkham border in a convoy. Another transit point has been established in Peshawar.

The deadline for Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave Pakistan was March 31. The repatriation of illegal immigrants and ACC card holders continues as Afghan refugee families continue to arrive from the Punjab, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Islamabad.

The return of Afghan Citizen Card holders from Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, is also ongoing. According to Home Department data, 8,115 Afghan Citizen Card holders have returned to Afghanistan through Torkham since April 1.

The voluntary return of Afghan ACC holders had begun in November 2023. Since then, a total of 491,317 illegal migrants have been repatriated from Pakistan.

Since April 1, 160 individuals from Islamabad, 4,931 from the Punjab, 44 from Sindh and one from Gilgit-Baltistan, all ACC holders, have returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham border crossing.

According to open SAFRON data, there are currently 0.81 million ACC holders and an estimated 0.7 million unregistered Afghan citizens living across the country.

The writer is a multimedia producer. He tweets @daudpasaney.