Pakistan's decision to deport people it says are in the country illegally has raised concerns among 1.7 million undocumented Afghan nationals who are staying there.

The Pakistani government is urging all migrants without legal status to voluntarily leave the country by November 1 or face deportation.

The government says Afghan nationals are suspected of being involved in more than a dozen suicide bombings this year.

Pakistan has become home to a large number of Afghans who fled their country to escape the hostilities that began with the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan about 40 years ago.

When the Taliban retook power in 2021, people affiliated with the ousted government and human rights activists fled to Pakistan.

Authorities in the capital, Islamabad, demolished some homes of Afghan nationals, prompting criticism from local residents.

Human Rights Watch has issued a statement, warning that "the Pakistani authorities' threats to deport more than one million Afghans puts them at grave risk of being returned to persecution and other abuse."

The international rights group urged the Pakistani authorities to "end police abuses and deportation threats."