Pakistan has ordered all unauthorised Afghan asylum seekers - an estimated 1.7 million people - to leave the country by November.
Pakistan’s Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti did not appear to directly reference that and another attack in Balochistan province when he announced the crackdown order on “illegal” Afghans on Tuesday.
But another 1.7 million people are in the country “illegally”, claimed Mr Bugti on Tuesday - an apparent reference to those who have not yet gained refugee status.
But Afghan refugees are “not involved in Pakistan’s security problems”, said Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman for the Taliban administration in Kabul.
Local state outlet APP reported that Islamabad eventually wanted all Afghans in the country to leave - even those with legal status and Pakistan residence cards.
There is a significant backlog of Afghans seeking documents to enter Pakistan - and obtaining visas and passports has turned into a months-long process.
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