Pakistan

Refugees

1,743,785

2022

Asylum Applications

38,277

2022

International Migrants

3,276,580

2020

Population

240,200,000

2023

International Migrants as % of Population

1.48%

2020

Overview

Pakistan is one of the world’s largest refugee-hosting countries, with the majority of refugees coming from Afghanistan. The country has not implemented a national asylum system and it is not a party to the UN Refugee Convention. There have been numerous reports of refugees being arrested during raids, arbitrarily detained, and summarily deported. There has been an escalating crackdown since a new wave of Afghan refugees began arriving after the 2021 Taliban takeover of Afghanistan. Refugees have been detained in various criminal facilities, as the country does not operate dedicated immigration detention facilities.

Types of facilities used for migration-related detention
Administrative Ad Hoc Criminal Unknown

Afghan Refugees Ordered to Leave Pakistan, or Face Deportation

Amidst a crackdown against undocumented Afghans residing in the country, Pakistan’s authorities have ordered all undocumented Afghans to leave by 1 November or face deportation. In recent weeks, hundreds of refugees have been arrested and detained on the grounds that they do not have adequate paperwork. According to reports, at least four refugees have died […]

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08 April 2020 – Pakistan

There are reports indicating that Pakistani authorities have taken some steps to mitigate the impact of the virus on the country’s prison population, which includes non-citizen detainees imprisoned under the 1946 Foreigners Act. The government has suspended visits to penitentiaries and court hearings. On 16 March, the Sindh provincial government began screening inmates and prison […]

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A Volunteer Checks the Temperature of Passengers Arriving at a Railway Station in Peshawar, AP Photo, 17 March 2020, (https://www.hrw.org/news/2020/03/19/pakistan-prisoners-risk-covid-19)
Last updated: October 2023

DETENTION STATISTICS

Total Migration Detainees: Flow + Stock (year)
Not Available
2019

DETAINEE DATA

Total Number of Children Placed in Immigration Detention (Year)
0
2017

DETENTION CAPACITY

ALTERNATIVES TO DETENTION

ADDITIONAL ENFORCEMENT DATA

PRISON DATA

Criminal Prison Population (Year)
80,169
2015
74,944
2012
75,586
2010
95,016
2007
89,370
2005
90,000
2002
74,485
1999
72,700
1996
68,453
1993
Percentage of Foreign Prisoners (Year)
1.2
2007
Prison Population Rate (per 100,000 of National Population)
43
2015
41
2012
43
2010
58
2007
57
2005
60
2002
54
1999
56
1996
58
1993

POPULATION DATA

Population (Year)
240,200,000
2023
220,900,000
2020
188,925,000
2015
International Migrants (Year)
3,276,580
2020
3,257,978
2019
3,629,000
2015
International Migrants as Percentage of Population (Year)
1.48
2020
1.9
2015
Refugees (Year)
1,743,785
2022
1,491,070
2021
1,438,940
2020
1,419,596
2019
1,404,019
2018
1,393,143
2017
1,352,551
2016
1,561,162
2015
1,505,525
2014
Ratio of Refugees Per 1000 Inhabitants (Year)
7.01
2016
8.14
2014
Asylum Applications (Year)
38,277
2022
3,606
2019
6,302
2016
5,818
2014
Refugee Recognition Rate (Year)
37
2014
Stateless Persons (Year)
55
2022
0
2016
0
2015

SOCIO-ECONOMIC DATA & POLLS

Gross Domestic Product per Capita (in USD)
1,316
2014
Remittances to the Country
17,060
2014
Unemployment Rate
2014
Net Official Development Assistance (ODA) (in Millions USD)
3,611.9
2014
Human Development Index Ranking (UNDP)
147 (Low)
2015
Pew Global Attitudes Poll on Immigration
70
2007

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

GOVERNANCE SYSTEM

Legal Tradition(s)
Muslim law
2017
Common law
2017

LEGAL & REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

GROUNDS FOR MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

LENGTH OF MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION

MIGRATION-RELATED DETENTION INSTITUTIONS

Custodial Authorities

PROCEDURAL STANDARDS & SAFEGUARDS

DETENTION MONITORS

> National human rights monitoring bodies

> National Preventive Mechanisms (Optional Protocol to UN Convetion against Torture)

> Non-governmental organisations (NGOs)

> Governmental monitoring bodies

> International detention monitoring

TRANSPARENCY

READMISSION/RETURN/EXTRADITION AGREEMENTS

Bilateral/Multilateral Readmission Agreements
EU (2010)
2017

COVID-19

HEALTH CARE

COVID-19 DATA

INTERNATIONAL TREATIES

International Treaties Ratified
Ratification Year
Observation Date
CRPD, Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
2011
2011
CAT, Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
2010
2010
ICCPR, International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
2010
2010
ICESCR, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
2008
2008
CEDAW, Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women
1996
1996
CRC, Convention on the Rights of the Child
1990
1990
VCCR, Vienna Convention on Consular Relations
1969
1969
ICERD, International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
1966
1966
Ratio of relevant international treaties ratified
Ratio: 8/19
Ratio of Complaints Procedures Accepted
Observation Date
0/7
2017
Relevant Recommendations Issued by Treaty Bodies
Recommendation Year
Observation Date
Committee against Torture 34.While commending the State party for hosting millions of refugees, many of them Afghans, the Committee is concerned about recent documented reports of coercion, including threats of deportation and police abuse, extortion, raids and arbitrary detention, to return Afghans, including registered refugees, to their country of origin where they could be at risk of persecution, torture or ill-treatment. The Committee regrets the lack of a legal framework for refugees and asylum seekers (art. 3). 2017
2017
Committee on the Rights of the Child § 66. "The Committee recommends that the State party take all necessary measures to: (a) Consider adopting a national refugee law in accordance with international standards and continue to host refugees, especially families with children and unaccompanied children; (b) Ensure that all children born to refugees, including those who do not hold proof of registration cards, asylum seekers and stateless persons, are registered at birth; (c) Integrate refugee and asylum-seeking children into national and provincial education systems on equal terms with nationals of the State party; (d) Provide refugees, in particular families with children, with adequate housing and provide shelter to those who live in the streets; (e) Enforce legal measures against child and bonded labour involving refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children; (f) Prevent and protect refugee, asylum-seeking and stateless children from falling victim to early marriage, abuse, trafficking or religious radicalization; (g) Ensure the equal implementation of its citizenship laws with a view to extending citizenship to Bengali, Bihari and Rohingya children; (h) Consider ratifying the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol, as well as the 1954 Convention relating to the Status of Stateless Persons and the 1961 Convention on the Reduction of Statelessness." 2016
2016

NON-TREATY-BASED INTERNATIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

Relevant Recommendations from the UN Universal Periodic Review
Observation Date
No 2012
2017
No 2008
2017

REGIONAL HUMAN RIGHTS MECHANISMS

DETENTION COSTS

OUTSOURCING

FOREIGN SOURCES OF FUNDING FOR DETENTION OPERATIONS