Maham Khan

For decades, Pakistan has hosted one of the world&#39;s largest refugee populations, providing sanctuary to millions of Afghans fleeing conflict. But by October 2025, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declared that Pakistan could no longer sustain this burden, citing security threats and socio-economic challenges. The result: over 1.47 million Afghan nationals repatriated in what Islamabad said is an orderly but necessary response to an escalating crisis.&nbsp; The numbers tell a grim story. Between 2023 and 2025, Pakistan experienced a devastating wave of terrorist attacks with alleged or confirmed links to Afghanistan. In January 2023, a suicide bomber killed 95 people at a Peshawar mosque. In July 2023, an attack on a political rally in Bajaur claimed over 50 lives. By December, 23 soldiers died in a military post attack in Dera Ismail Khan.&nbsp; In 2023, Pakistan&#39;s former Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti stated that 14 of 24 suicide bombings in that year alone&nbsp;involved Afghan nationals. The pattern continued into 2024 and 2025. After seven soldiers were killed in North Waziristan in March 2024, Pakistan&#39;s defense minister declared that terrorism against Pakistan was &quot;mostly being conducted from Afghanistan.&quot; Most recently, in November 2025, a suicide bombing at an Islamabad district court killed 12 people. Pakistani officials stated that the bomber was an Afghan national and the attack was orchestrated from Afghanistan. For Pakistan, these aren&#39;t isolated incidents but evidence of a systemic problem: militant groups, particularly Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Islamic State-Khorasan Province (ISIS-K), operating from Afghan territory to launch cross-border attacks. Pakistani officials have repeatedly asked the Afghan Taliban of preventing its soil from being used by these militant groups. Despite diplomatic assurances to the contrary, the Taliban regime has done little. The diplomatic efforts were genuine but ultimately futile. Throughout 2025, Pakistan engaged in multiple rounds of high-level talks with Afghanistan&#39;s Taliban government, mediated by Qatar and Turkey. In April, Pakistan&#39;s Foreign Minister visited Kabul. In May, trilateral talks were held in Beijing. When deadly border clashes erupted in October, three separate negotiation rounds were convened in Doha and Istanbul. All failed. Pakistan demanded verifiable action against militant groups; Afghanistan either could not or would not deliver. The humanitarian dimension of this crisis cannot be ignored. According to an International Organization for Migration report in late November,&nbsp;435,279 Afghan nationals returned to Afghanistan between July and September alone. 93% left through self-organized returns, driven overwhelmingly by fear of arrest. The deportees came from areas that had suffered terrorist attacks: 28% from Quetta, 11% from Pishin. In September 2025, a suicide bombing at a political rally in Quetta, near Pishin, was claimed by the ISIS-K. This is the tragic calculus of national security meeting humanitarian obligation. Pakistan has legitimate security concerns. When diplomatic channels fail and attacks continue, a government faces pressure to act decisively. The international community has largely remained silent, treating this as a bilateral issue rather than a regional crisis requiring multilateral solutions. Afghanistan&#39;s Taliban regime has proven unable or unwilling to control militant groups within its borders, leaving Pakistan with few options. Meanwhile, Afghan refugees become pawns in a security crisis not of their making. There are no easy answers here. Pakistan&#39;s security concerns are real and documented. The failure of diplomatic engagement left Islamabad feeling it had exhausted peaceful options. But the mass repatriation of over a million people, many of whom have known only Pakistan as home, raises profound questions about refuge and the limits of hospitality when national security appears threatened. What remains clear is that this crisis demands more than bilateral negotiations that end in deadlock. It requires sustained international engagement, pressure on the Afghan&nbsp;Taliban to deny sanctuary to militant groups, and genuine support for both Pakistan&#39;s security needs and the humanitarian needs of displaced Afghans. Without it, we&#39;re left with what we have now: a tragic situation where everyone loses, and the most vulnerable pay the highest price.

Blogs

When diplomatic channels fail and attacks continue, a government faces pressure to act decisively.

Pakistan's refugee crisis: When security concerns force difficult choices

Web Desk

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan&rsquo;s Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MoIB) rejected claims made by former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad, that a senior commander of ISIS-Khorasan (ISIS-K) was killed in the Punjab region of Pakistan. The controversy began when Khalilzad shared a post on X (Twitter) from Al-Mirsad English. The post claimed that a commander named Burhan, also known as Zaid, had been gunned down by armed men in Akhtar Abad, Punjab. <div class="fr-embed"><div></div></div> It described Burhan as a key figure in ISIS-K and alleged he had been involved in operations across Afghanistan. Khalilzad, a prominent figure in US foreign policy, retweeted the post. He called the report &ldquo;good news&rdquo; and linked it to broader regional security concerns, suggesting it marked a blow to ISIS-K&rsquo;s operations. <div class="fr-embed"><div></div></div> However, Pakistan&rsquo;s MoIB in a post on X called the claim &ldquo;false and misleading.&rdquo; The ministry said the incident took place in Habibabad, not Akhtar Abad, as claimed. Habibabad is located in the Kasur district of Punjab. The killing occurred on March 5, 2025. <div class="fr-embed"><div></div></div> The MoIB clarified that the incident was not related to ISIS-K. It wrote that it was likely a result of a robbery or a personal dispute. Official records show Burhan had been living with his father-in-law in Habibabad and had no known ties to ISIS-K or any militant group. A police report, filed on March 6, 2025, confirmed the incident was a local crime. The Saddar Patoki police station registered a First Information Report, and investigations are ongoing. Authorities have found no evidence linking the killing to terrorism. &ldquo;There is no credible evidence to suggest Burhan was involved in ISIS-K,&rdquo; the MoIB statement said. &ldquo;This was a criminal act, not terrorism.&rdquo; The ministry also rejected the broader narrative. It dismissed suggestions that ISIS-K had a presence in Punjab. &ldquo;The claim that ISIS-K is active in Punjab is false,&rdquo; the statement said. &ldquo;Pakistan&rsquo;s security agencies have found no evidence of ISIS-K elements operating in the province.&rdquo; Khalilzad&rsquo;s post had raised concerns among some observers. They feared it could signal a shift in the security situation. The MoIB asked both local and international media to verify such claims through reliable sources before reporting. The ministry also&nbsp;cautioned against sharing unverified or sensationalized information.

Security

Ministry of Information and Broadcasting refutes the post by former US Ambassador to the United Nations, Zalmay Khalilzad; clarifies that the incident was not related to ISIS-K and was likely the result of a robbery or a personal dispute.

Pakistan denies report of ISIS-K commander killed in southern Punjab

Reuters

ISLAMABAD: The US military reportedly killed a senior Islamic State (ISIS) militant in a raid on Syria early on Saturday. The operation coincides with the first official visit by a Syrian foreign minister to Washington in more than 25 years.&nbsp;Friday night, US forces conducted a raid in Syria that killed Omar Abdul Qader, also known as Abdul Rahman Al-Halabi. The Iraqi counterterrorism service, working in coordination with the US-led international coalition, confirmed the operation.&nbsp;&nbsp;Abdul Qader was identified as the Islamic State group&rsquo;s head of external operations and security.&nbsp;He was accused of overseeing attacks across several countries, including the bombing of Iran&rsquo;s embassy in Lebanon. He also planned other attacks in Europe and the United States that were foiled through intelligence efforts.&nbsp;&nbsp;The US military said Abdul Qader was actively seeking to launch attacks against the United States. The statement did not specify if any civilians were killed in the raid.&nbsp;The operation forms part of a series of US strikes against ISIS figures in Syria. US officials have warned that the group is seeking to stage a resurgence following the fall of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.&nbsp;US ends protected status for Syrian migrants Meanwhile, the US Department of Homeland Security confirmed it will terminate temporary protected status (TPS) for more than 6,000 Syrians currently living in the US with legal protections granted since 2012. The DHS cited improvements in conditions in Syria and described it as &ldquo;a hotbed of terrorism and extremism for nearly two decades,&rdquo; stating it was against US national interests to allow Syrians to remain in the country. Syrian nationals under TPS have 60 days to voluntarily leave the US and return home. Failure to do so could result in arrest and deportation. This move is part of President Donald Trump&rsquo;s wider effort to rescind deportation protections he says were overused, including for migrants who have legally lived and worked in the US for many years.&nbsp;&nbsp;Critics, including US Democrats and migrant advocates, argue that forced returns could send Syrians back into dangerous circumstances and that many US employers depend on their labour.&nbsp;Diplomatic breakthrough&nbsp; Syrian Foreign Minister Asaad al-Shibani arrived in Washington on 18 September for high-level talks, marking the first visit by a Syrian foreign minister in over 25 years.&nbsp;&nbsp;He is scheduled to meet US lawmakers to discuss lifting the remaining US sanctions on Syria, Senator Lindsey Graham was quoted as saying by Axios. Two sources familiar with the trip confirmed the visit to Reuters.&nbsp;The visit follows the overthrow of Bashar al-Assad by forces loyal to President Ahmed al-Sharaa in December 2024. The US is seeking to integrate its longtime Syrian Kurdish allies with Sharaa&rsquo;s administration in Damascus and is mediating talks between Syria and Israel.&nbsp;The Syrian President is expected to attend the upcoming UN General Assembly in New York, where he and President Trump reportedly plan to meet. Negotiations aiming to secure a security pact between Syria and Israel could yield results &ldquo;in the coming days,&rdquo; according to officials.&nbsp;The US has imposed harsh sanctions on Syria since 2011 in response to Assad&rsquo;s violent suppression of protests that ignited a nearly 14-year civil war. The current thaw between Washington and Damascus, including Trump&rsquo;s announcement in May to lift sanctions after meeting Sharaa, signals a substantial shift in policy.&nbsp;&nbsp;

Articles tagged with "ISIS militants"

Pakistan's refugee crisis: When security concerns force difficult choices

Pakistan denies report of ISIS-K commander killed in southern Punjab

US kills alleged ISIS militant as Syrian FM visits Washington

Pakistan's refugee crisis: When security concerns force difficult choices