[10] On 3 October 2023, the Interior Minister of Pakistan Sarfraz Bugti ordered that all undocumented immigrants, mainly nearly 1.73 million Afghan nationals, to voluntarily leave the country by 1 November 2023, or face deportation in a crackdown.

In his 1857 review of John William Kaye's The Afghan War, Friedrich Engels described Afghanistan as: ... an extensive country of Asia ... between Persia and the Indies, and in the other direction between the Hindu Kush and the Indian Ocean.

It formerly included the Persian provinces of Khorassan and Kohistan, together with Herat, Beluchistan, Cashmere, and Sinde, and a considerable part of the Punjab ... Its principal cities are Kabul, the capital, Ghuznee, Peshawer, and Kandahar.

The single-page agreement in 1947 ending political interference beyond the frontier between Afghanistan and the British Indian Empire, inherited by Pakistan in 1947,[18] divided the indigenous Pashtun tribes.

[19] The ensuing decade of violence at the hands of Soviet forces encouraged thousands more to follow, escaping what some considered to be "difficult, if not impossible, situations," which included the threat of mass arrests, executions, attacks on public gatherings, the destruction of Afghan infrastructure, as well as the targeting of Afghanistan's agricultural and industrial sectors.

[20] Aided by the UNHCR, and primarily funded by the United States government, Pakistan continued to accept and support the inclusion of these Afghan refugees throughout the decade.

Some were individuals "who came from politically prominent and wealthy families with personal and business assets outside Afghanistan; a small group who arrived [had] assets that they could bring with them such as trucks, cars and limited funds and who have done relatively well in Pakistan integrating into the new society and engaging successfully in commerce; those refugees who came from the ranks of the well-educated and include professionals such as doctors, engineers and teachers; refugees who escaped with household goods and herds of sheep, cattle and yaks but for the most part must be helped to maintain themselves; the fifth and the largest group, constituting about 60 per cent of the refugees, are ordinary Afghans who arrived with nothing and are largely dependent on Pakistan and international efforts for sustenance.

Claiming that these refugees were to blame for the growing security concerns within the country, along with the subsequent branding of these individuals as terrorists, Pakistan, with support of the UNHCR, began to facilitate 'voluntary repatriation'.

[20] Regardless, millions of refugees were subsequently deported, and returned to a country in which they had little-to-no ability to earn a livelihood, which was only further complicated due to the lack of resources in comparison to the number of individuals being repatriated.

Returnees were reportedly to be given land by the Afghan government to build a home,[24] and each person received a travel package worth about $100 (which was increased to $400).

A number of Afghan passport holders travel to Pakistan with a visa for a variety of reasons, including tourism, family visit, business, medical treatment, education, or sport competition.

[36] Khyber Pakhtunkhwa hosts the largest population of Afghan citizens with 52.6%, followed by Balochistan (24.1%), Punjab (14.3%), Sindh (5.5%), Islamabad (3.1%), and Azad Kashmir (0.3%).

Due to social unrest and Hazara persecution, the Afghan refugees are trying to resettle in other countries such as Australia, the United Kingdom, Finland, Canada, etc.

[10][40] In June 2007, the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA) registered 16,439 Afghans in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore;[41] their number was reported at about 7,000 in October 2004.

[44] In 2009, it was reported that the UNHCR helped about 3,000 refugees move from the slums of Islamabad to an undeveloped plot of land in a green belt on the edge of the city.

[48] Due to historical, ethnic, religious, and linguistic connections, Afghan immigrants in Pakistan find it relatively easy to adapt to local customs and culture.

[51] Afghan communities retain and preserve their cultural values, traditions and customs, despite years of fighting and difficult socioeconomic conditions in Afghanistan.

Despite economic hardships and challenges in Pakistan, many Afghans are unwilling to return in the near future and cite security concerns and the lack of housing and jobs in Afghanistan.

[57][58] Wealthier Afghans live in cities, renting houses, driving cars and working in offices or running their own businesses; their children are enrolled in better schools and universities.

Stress is an important risk factor as migration involves the breaking of relation with family, friends, culture and social interactions.

[82] The global drive to eliminate polio, which has gone on for 31 years and consumed over $16 billion, has been set back again by the new reported cases in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

[83] Pakistan and Afghanistan form a single epidemiological block with a regular cross-border movement, which maintains the flow of the poliovirus in both directions of the border.

[90] The influx of Afghan refugees since the 1980s has contributed to increased sectarian violence, drug trafficking, terrorism and organised crime in Pakistan.

Major items smuggled from Afghanistan into Pakistan have been opium, hashish, heroin, lumber,[105] precious stones, copper, automobiles and electronics.

[106] According to a 2001 report, the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (the Taliban government) have been unable to stop the refining and export of heroin stockpiles through its borders.

According to Sheikh Rasheed Ahmad, "families of Afghanistan's Taliban reside in his country, including in areas around the capital, Islamabad, and the insurgent group's members receive some medical treatment in local hospitals.

Due to Pakistan's porous border with Afghanistan, it is difficult for local authorities and security agencies to track the movement of Afghan militants into the country.

The 2009 Lahore police academy attacks, blamed on the Pakistani militant groups (Fedayeen al-Islam and Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan), involved one Afghan who received a 10-year sentence.

[114] In the 2011 Dera Ghazi Khan bombings, a teenaged Afghan boy (Fida Hussain) from the tribal areas was arrested as a suspect.

[118]After the December 2014 Peshawar school massacre, Pakistani authorities cracked down on Afghan refugee settlements to apprehend illegal immigrants.