Pakistan has decided to close Afghan refugee camps that have been in operation for 40 years, the local media reported Saturday.

As many as five such facilities in the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province have been ordered to shut down as the Pakistani government continues its crackdown on Afghan refugees.

“The five camps being closed in KP included three camps in Haripur district, one in Chitral, and one in Upper Dir. The Panian camp in Haripur alone had housed more than 100,000 refugees, according to officials,” Pakistan’s leading daily Express Tribune reported.

“The government started sending back undocumented Afghan refugees in October 2023, citing reasons of increasing crime and terrorism. Earlier this week, Defence Minister Khawaja Asif repeated that Afghan refugees were linked to terr

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