Pakistan's government on Friday said "we decide who stays", after the United Nations refugee chief urged the country to pause its mass expulsion of Afghans after a major earthquake.

Thousands of Afghans who were registered as refugees have surged over the border from Pakistan in recent days, with returns escalating despite a weekend earthquake that killed 2,200 people and flattened entire villages in Afghanistan.

It prompted a call by Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees: "Given the circumstances, I appeal to the (government of Pakistan) to pause the implementation of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan."

:Pakistan has hosted Afghans fleeing violence and humanitarian crises for more than four decades, from the Soviet invasion to the 2021 Taliban takeover.

"Any peo

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