Amid the reopening of borders, there has been a significant increase, by 146 percent, in the number of Afghan nationals being arrested in Pakistan:

A recently published joint report by IOM and UNHCR and Dawn states that the reopening of border crossings had caused a 146% increase in the number of Afghan Nationals Arrested and Detained in Pakistan over a single week.

According to the report, the number of Afghan Nationals who were Arrested and Detained in the week ending November 1 was 7,764, representing a considerable increase from the week prior.

Of those who were Arrested and Detained in the week of October 26 to November 1, 77% were Afghan Citizen Card holders and undocumented Afghans, while those registered with the Proof of Registration (PoR) card made up the rest of 23% Author.

Most of the Arrest Detentions were carried out in the province of Balochistan, with 86% of all cases nationwide from January 1 until November 1 2025. The report identified Chagi, Attock, and Quetta as the three most active districts for Arrest Detentions during that time, as reported by Dawn.

In the last week of October, the data also revealed a considerable increase in the rate of deportations and returns. The number of returns was up by 101%, and deportations were up by 131%, all in comparison to the week of October 19-25.

The number of returns rose dramatically from 18,630 returns which included 3,341 deportations the week before, to 37,448 returns which included 7,733 deportations the week ending November 1.

"Such an increase is largely due to the reopening of Chaman border, with Torkham also reopening on November 1," said the report.

Dawn stated that from September 15, 2023 to November 1 of this year, 1,667,713 individuals have returned to Afghanistan.

In the week between October 26 and November 1, returns included 47 percent PoR holders, 44 percent undocumented individuals, and 8 percent ACC holders.

In comparison, however, 93 percent of the deportees in this time period were undocumented.

The report stated that fear of arrest was the primary reason for return for 93 percent of undocumented individuals and ACC holders, and for 39 percent of PoR holders, since April 1, 2023.