Islamabad( The COW News Digital )Pakistan’s Defence Minister Khawaja Muhammad Asif issued a blunt warning this week that Afghan nationals living in Pakistan without valid documentation will be deported, as tensions along the border with Afghanistan remain high. Asif made the remarks during an interview on Geo TV’s Aaj Shahzeb Khanzada Ke Saath, stressing that responsibility for border security and decisions about refugees rests with the federal government.
Speaking against the backdrop of deadly cross-border clashes that prompted temporary closures of major border crossings, Asif accused elements in Afghanistan of issuing mixed signals — threatening Pakistan while simultaneously calling for talks — and said Islamabad would not negotiate under threat. He underlined Pakistan’s sovereign right to respond if attacked and said military action has targeted militant hideouts, not civilian populations.
On the sensitive issue of Afghan refugees, Asif reiterated Islamabad’s policy stance: the provinces are not responsible for decisions on refugee expulsions; that authority lies with the federal government. He warned that authorities have the power to deport those who cannot produce legal residency papers, framing the move as part of a broader security agenda aimed at denying safe havens to militant groups alleged to operate from Afghan soil.
Asif’s comments come amid an intensifying narrative from Pakistani officials that some militant networks and their facilitators use Afghan territory as a sanctuary. Islamabad has repeatedly claimed it is targeting those hideouts — not Afghan civilian communities — even as Kabul and its Taliban-appointed leaders deny accusations of harbouring militants. The exchanges have ratcheted up diplomatic strain and drawn international attention to the fragile security environment on the 2,600‑kilometre frontier.
Humanitarian and rights groups warn that mass or expedited returns of undocumented refugees could produce serious humanitarian consequences, noting that many Afghans lack safe places to go home to and that deportations heighten risks for vulnerable families. Previous repatriation drives in Pakistan have already led to the return of hundreds of thousands of Afghans under Islamabad’s repatriation plans, a process that has drawn both domestic and international scrutiny.
As tensions simmer, Pakistan says it will continue to treat its borders as a sovereign state would and insists that counter‑terrorism priorities must guide policy. The coming days will be critical as government ministers, military officials and diplomats navigate a fraught situation that combines security imperatives with complex humanitarian and bilateral concerns
