Quetta [Pakistan], August 2 (ANI): Pakistan has issued a renewed call for the repatriation of Afghan nationals living in the country's southwest, prompting thousands to rush to the Chaman border, Dawn reported.

'We have received directives from the home department to launch a fresh drive to repatriate all Afghans... in a respectful and orderly manner,' Meharullah, a senior government official in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, told AFP, according to Dawn.

On Friday, an estimated 'around 4,000 to 5,000 people [were] at the Chaman border' waiting to return, said Habib Bingalzai, another senior government official based in Chaman.

Abdul Latif Hakimi, head of Refugee Registration in Afghanistan's Kandahar province across the border, confirmed they were aware of an increase in returning Afghans on Friday, Dawn reported.

Millions of Afghans have fled into Pakistan over the past several decades due to conflict and instability, including hundreds of thousands who arrived after the Taliban returned to power in 2021.

According to Dawn, the deportation campaign was first launched in 2023 and resumed in April this year, after Pakistan cancelled hundreds of thousands of temporary residence permits issued to Afghans. Those without valid documentation were warned they would face arrest if they failed to leave voluntarily.

Analysts believe the renewed expulsions are intended to pressure the Taliban government in Afghanistan to rein in militancy along the shared border.

Since the launch of the deportation drive, more than one million Afghans have left Pakistan, including over 200,000 since April this year, Dawn reported.

The campaign has specifically targeted more than 800,000 Afghans with temporary residence permits--many of whom were either born in Pakistan or have lived there for decades.

However, public sentiment in Pakistan has shifted amid economic challenges and a deteriorating security situation, with growing support for the deportation campaign.

Pakistan's security forces are under increasing pressure, particularly in the border regions of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, where they are battling a rising insurgency.

Last year, Pakistan recorded the highest number of deaths from militant attacks in a decade, with the government frequently accusing Afghan nationals of involvement in these attacks, Dawn reported.

Meanwhile, Iran has also initiated a large-scale campaign to deport Afghans, sending more than 1.5 million back across the border. (ANI)