Governance

In the quiet classrooms of Pakistani universities, thousands of Afghan students – many in the last stretch of their advanced degrees – are living with an unrelenting countdown. On 31 August 2025, Pakistan’s government has ordered that all Afghan nationals must leave the country or face arrest and deportation.

The report says that in India, sectors such as manufacturing, customer service, clerical roles, and routine administration are projected to witness the steepest job declines.

The risk of second-order effects from existing tariffs is also rising. A US-India trade deal, if secured, would reduce these risks, Fitch says.

The crisis has exposed Pakistan’s vulnerability to climate-driven disasters, underlining a pressing need for international support

Of Islamabad's approximately 41,520 registered Afghan citizens, many retain memories of earlier refuge. Before 2006, some 25,000 had lived in a refugee camp within the Islamabad Capital Territory.

For Pakistan, the challenge now is twofold: to address the immediate humanitarian needs of thousands of displaced people, and to commit to the long-term infrastructure, environmental and policy changes needed to withstand the storms of a warming world.

The council also criticized the government for excluding minorities from all reform commissions, which were set up to recommend measures aimed at combating discrimination and promoting social justice.

Nayak argues the response is problematic on multiple fronts. Section 32, he says, is a weak, omnibus penal clause covering breach of official duty but does not specifically address wrongful inclusion of ineligible voters.