MSF Warns Afghan Refugee Expulsions from Pakistan Spark Severe Winter Humanitarian Crisis

January 7, 2024 – Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) issued a stark warning today that Pakistan’s ongoing mass expulsion of Afghan refugees is precipitating a severe and avoidable humanitarian crisis, with the onset of harsh winter conditions placing thousands of children, women, and families at immediate risk.

In a detailed report released Wednesday, MSF outlined that newly arrived deportees in Afghanistan are frequently held in makeshift transit camps along the border, lacking adequate shelter, insulation, and heating. Access to essential services such as healthcare, clean water, nutritious food, and sanitation remains critically limited, creating a perfect storm for a public health emergency.

“The situation is alarmingly precarious,” said Xu Weibing, Head of MSF’s Mission in Pakistan. “Families are trapped in an impossible dilemma: living in constant fear of arrest and deportation in Pakistan, or returning to an Afghanistan grappling with its own economic collapse and a decimated healthcare system, only to face exposure and destitution. The international community must mobilize immediate humanitarian and protective assistance for this highly vulnerable population.”

The expulsion drive, which targets undocumented migrants as well as holders of Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC) and Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, has uprooted communities, many of whom have lived in Pakistan for over forty years. Previous repatriation efforts during winter months have been widely criticized for inadequate planning and support, a failure now repeating itself on a larger scale.

Underlying vulnerabilities are sharply exacerbated by the cold. According to UN agencies, Afghan refugees and returnees already face chronic challenges including high rates of acute malnutrition, limited healthcare, and overcrowded living conditions. The extreme winter weather—bringing freezing temperatures, snow, and rain—transforms these conditions into a direct threat to survival.

“Without insulated shelter, sufficient nutrition, and medical care for conditions like pneumonia and hypothermia, winter acts as a silent killer for the displaced,” the MSF report emphasized. “The very young, the elderly, pregnant women, and those with chronic illnesses are at greatest risk.”

Humanitarian experts and aid organizations are calling for urgent international action. Key demands include:

• Immediate suspension of forced returns during the winter period.

• Scaling up of emergency aid on both sides of the border, including winterized shelter kits, heating fuel, warm clothing, and nutritious food supplies.

• Strengthening of healthcare services at transit points and in areas of return to address acute medical needs and prevent disease outbreaks.

• Long-term protection measures and a coordinated regional response that recognizes the protracted nature of Afghan displacement.

Pakistan hosts one of the world’s largest and most protracted refugee populations, with an estimated 1.7 million Afghans registered or documented. The current crisis underscores the urgent need for sustainable solutions and shared responsibility, rather than forced returns that compound human suffering, particularly during the most lethal season of the year.

 

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