- This article is about Afghan immigrants in Pakistan. Not to be confused with the Pashtuns of Pakistan.
Afghans in Pakistan (,
Afghan Muhajreen) are
refugees who have fled wars in
Afghanistan. It also includes smaller number of asylum seekers waiting to be settled in Western countries, as well as
Afghan diplomats,
traders,
businesspersons, workers,
exchanged students,
tourists and other visitors. The first wave of Afghan migration into
Pakistan began during the 1980s
Soviet war in Afghanistan. As of December 2012, approximately 1.7 million Afghan nationals were reported to be living in Pakistan's
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa,
Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA) and northwestern
Balochistan, which sit next to Afghanistan. Most of these refugees were born and raised in Pakistan in the previous 30 years but are still counted as
citizens of Afghanistan. They are under the protection and care of the
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), and provided legal status by the
Government of Pakistan to remain in the country indefinitely.
