In the capital, tens of thousands of Afghan nationals navigate life under persistent precarity. Of Islamabad’s approximately 41,520 registered Afghan citizens, many retain memories of earlier refuge.

As Pakistani security forces mounted a fresh offensive near its rugged northwestern frontier, Afghan refugees residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi find themselves once again in the shadows of wider upheaval. Their enduring struggle – through shifting geography, legal limbos, and social distrust – resonates deeply amid military operations displacing tens of thousands across the border.

On August 12, 2025, Pakistan launched a “targeted operation” in Bajaur, an erstwhile stronghold of the Pakistani Taliban (TTP), situated along the porous Afghan border. Supported by helicopter strikes and mountainous terrain surveillance, the offensive aimed solely at insurgent hideouts to avoid civilian harm. Yet, within days nearly 100,000 residents were displaced, seeking refuge in government shelters or with distant relatives. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government responded with ₨ 50,000 (about US$175) compensation per displaced family and relief distributed by charities like Al-Khidmat Foundation.

A mortar strike in Mamund – within Bajaur – tragically marshalled the human toll of the operation: two children and their mother were killed, igniting local protests as hundreds refused to bury them until a formal investigation ensued.

Islamabad’s Afghan Refugees: Between Memory and Margins

Meanwhile, in the capital, tens of thousands of Afghan nationals navigate life under persistent precarity. 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. After its closure, they were relocated – and today, roughly 7,335 Afghan refugees are documented as residing in Rawalpindi.

The tribal news network, TNN, spotlighted these stories, painting a vivid tableau of perseverance amid hardship: displaced families living in makeshift shelters, sustaining daily lives with undocumented jobs, deepening their roots in communities even as their status remains uncertain.

Legal Limbo, Police Raids, and Deportation Fears

In recent months, anxieties have surged. Beginning in January, Afghan refugees in Islamabad and Rawalpindi have faced intensifying police raids, detentions, and mounting expulsion orders. Civil society reports that at least 190 people were rounded up in March 2025 in Islamabad alone.

Simultaneously, the Afghan Embassy, backed by UN observations, accused Pakistan of executing a covert campaign of mass expulsions – targeting nearly 4 million Afghans who fled protracted conflict or the 2021 Taliban resurgence. The deportation impulse has spared few: refugees who arrived years ago, those with UNHCR or POR cards, even long-settled families. As one human rights defender said, “When we wake up we are afraid that the police will show up … People are afraid to leave their house”.

Amid all this, Pakistan’s government distinguishes between documented and undocumented Afghans, urging expedited resettlement or deporting those whose cases remain pending past a March 31 deadline – even as processing delays linger.

Life at a Lingering Disadvantage

Caught in administrative crosshairs, many Afghans say their lives have become akin to indefinite limbo. As one refugee, Shaharzad, described, “The space in which I live has shrunk to the small courtyard of a guesthouse … reminiscent of my life under Taliban rule,” in tones that echo her yearning for agency and security.

The broader policy picture deepens this uncertainty: Pakistan is not a signatory to the 1951 Refugee Convention nor its 1967 Protocol. Hence, Afghan asylum seekers are processed under the Foreigners Act of 1946. UNHCR conducts status determination under a cooperation agreement – yet recognition, protection, and resettlement remain sluggish and inconsistent.

A Landscape of Resilience – and Risk

Against this backdrop, two realities collide: the military push to contain militant threats emanating from Afghan soil and the prolonged struggle of Afghan refugees to simply exist in peace.

In southern Balochistan’s Zhob district, another engagement saw Pakistani forces eliminate 33 militants in a pre-dawn raid near the Afghan border, under Operation Sarbakaf or similar clearance missions. These cross-border crackdowns reflect Islamabad’s increasingly aggressive posture to deter militants. Yet Afghan refugees—many of whom have no links to insurgency—are inadvertently ensnared in collateral fallout through heightened security, suspicion, and crackdown policies.

Hope amid High Stakes

The Afghan refugees in Islamabad and Rawalpindi remain emblematic of resilience. Their lives – shaped by years of displacement, adaptation, community, and longing – reflect a quest not just for safety, but for belonging. While military operations in Bajaur underscore the volatility of the region, the refugees’ ongoing ordeal sparks urgent calls for humane governance.

Their stories ask: can a nation facing violent threats afford to forego compassion toward people who have long called it home? As Pakistan navigates security pressures and administrative imperatives, the paths available to Afghan refugees – whether integration, formal protection, or safe resettlement – are not just policy choices, but testaments to shared humanity.