Pakistan - November 2023

Pakistan initiated a nationwide crackdown on foreign nationals it deemed illegal residents, declaring 1 November as the deadline for nearly 2 million unregistered Afghans to leave the country. The deportation policy has widely been criticized by human rights groups and the UN, citing concern that those forcibly returned face Taliban persecution and a humanitarian crisis, particularly acute for vulnerable groups like women, girls, and minorities. On 27 November, Human Rights Watch reported that Pakistani authorities have committed widespread abuse in compelling Afghan nationals to leave, including ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests and detention, and destruction of property and identity documents.

Sources: Human Rights Watch, Dawn, BBC News, International Crisis Group, OHCHR

Following months of uncertainty, the Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) agreed to hold general elections on 8 February 2024. The announcement comes after the Supreme Court ordered the commission and president to agree on a date in response to several court challenges questioning the delay. The polls were originally delayed past the 90-day stipulated period after the dissolution of parliament on 9 August to allow time to redraw constituency boundaries based on the latest census. However, some political observers suspect the delay had more to do with the political crisis that has ensued since Prime Minister Imran Khan's no-confidence vote in 2022. Nonetheless, the move has been welcomed by major political parties as a positive development toward stability in Pakistan.

Sources: The Express Tribune, Dawn, Financial Times, Nikkei Asia