Pakistan Impose $830 Exit Fee For Afghan Migrants Who Fled Taliban

Afghan migrants waiting to be resettled in the United Kingdom and other western countries face a charge of hundreds of dollars in exit fees in an ‘unprecedented’ move by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. 

The Pakistani authorities’ decision to impose hundreds of dollars in exit fees for every Afghan migrant who fled the Taliban rule has been slammed by western diplomats and the United Nations, an intergovernmental organization.

What is the $830 exit fee for Afghan Migrants?

The “unprecedented” move by the Pakistani authorities targets unregistered Afghan migrants, who are waiting to leave Pakistan for western countries under resettlement schemes. 

Pakistan has imposed a charge of $830 for each Afghan migrant under resettlement schemes. Five senior western diplomats in Pakistan have slammed the latest move by the Pakistani authorities. 

One western diplomat told The Guardian, “I know it is very tough economically for Pakistan but really, to try to make money off refugees is really unattractive.”

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UN slams Pakistan

The UNHCR (United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees) and IOM (International Organization for Migration), a United Nations agency that specializes in providing advice about migration, slammed Pakistan for imposing a charge of $830 for each Afghan migrant under resettlement schemes. 

A diplomat told The Guardian, “What is the justification for this exit permit fee? To make a lot of money?” 

It’s important to note that the initial decision was to charge $10,000 for each Afghan migrant but that had been lowered to $830. 

Plight of Afghan migrants

Afghan migrants must pay exit fees via credit card. However, many Afghan refugees have no access to exit fees. The exit permit fee for Afghan migrants and refugees in the resettlement programme can be dangerous for Afghan migrants. 

Recently, Angelina Jolie also slammed Pakistan’s forced expulsion of Afghan migrants. Angelina Jolie, who previously served as a special envoy to UNHCR, called the move “another example of the backsliding in human rights globally.”

Pakistan ordered “illegal foreigners”, including about 2 million unregistered Afghans, to return to their countries of origin by November 1. Pakistan also opened three new border crossings for expulsion of illegal Afghan migrants.

When the deadline passed, Afghan migrants were forced to return to Taliban rule in Afghanistan. Thousands of Afghans without the correct documents suffered the most when Pakistan announced a crackdown on undocumented foreigners.

Recently, Fereshta Abbasi, a Researcher in the Asia division at Human Rights Watch (HRW), said that Afghan migrants and refugees without registration faced harassment, assault, beatings, and arbitrary detention in Pakistan. The United Nations called the situation a human rights catastrophe. 

Amnesty International wrote on X, formerly Twitter, “Many Afghans in Pakistan are now facing police raids.”

Babar Baloch, a spokesperson for the UNHCR, said, “The UNHCR is working with the government of Pakistan to resolve the issue of exit fines.”

Afghan migrants are now caught between the threat of Taliban reprisals and forced expulsions from Pakistan.