However, outside observers noted there were likely also political reasons for the sudden deportations, for example that the Pakistan Army hoped to pressure the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan into a more cooperative foreign policy.
[17] The Pakistani government attributes this surge in violence to the Afghan Taliban providing safe harbor to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which organised several of these attacks.
[20][21] Sarfraz Bugti, the interim Interior Minister, disclosed that a significant portion of suicide bombings in Pakistan this year were orchestrated by Afghan citizens.
[35] To accelerate the deportation process, additional crossing points have been established in Qila Saifullah, Qameruddin Karez, and Baracha Noor Wahab in the Chagai district by the authorities in Balochistan.
[37] Afghans who failed to leave the country were detained in nationwide sweeps and had their illegal mud-brick houses on the outskirts of the capital Islamabad demolished.
The plan, finalized by Punjab's Inspector General of Police, Dr. Usman Anwar, began its phased evacuation of illegal immigrants on 3 November.
[40] The operation spans multiple divisions within Punjab, such as Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Sargodha, Sheikhupura, Faisalabad, Lahore, Sahiwal, Bahawalpur, Multan, and Dera Ghazi Khan.
The United Nations and Western diplomats have denounced as "shocking and frustrating" Pakistan's move to charge hundreds of dollars in exit fees to each Afghan refugee who fled the Taliban's persecution.
[49][50][51] Amnesty International urged the reversal of the decision and condemned Pakistan's authorities for "arbitrarily arresting and harassing" Afghans living in the country.
[55][56] The United Nations and international human rights organizations have raised alarms about Pakistan's intentions to remove Afghan individuals who entered the country illegally.
[57][58][59] Pakistan's caretaker government has stated that there will be no extension of the deadline for illegal immigrants to leave the country,[60][61] and claimed that the deportation is in line with international law.
[62] Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar said that the government's repatriation policy is not exclusive to Afghan nationals, but applies to all illegal immigrants in Pakistan.
[66] Interim Home Minister Sarfraz Bugti stated that the government's deportation drive is aimed at including all people living illegally in the country, not just Afghans.