Pakistani authorities have started rounding up undocumented immigrants nationwide. The measures have prompted fears among the large numbers of people who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban retook power in 2021.

Local media say police detained some undocumented Afghans in Pakistan's largest city of Karachi on Wednesday. The government had been urging undocumented immigrants to leave the country voluntarily, or face deportation.

Earlier, authorities in the capital Islamabad demolished the homes of some Afghans. The officials said the move was necessary to end what they described as an "illegal occupation."

The Pakistani government says there are 1.7 million undocumented Afghan nationals in the country.

Afghans in Pakistan are denouncing the deportation policy as unacceptable. One demonstrator said, "If we are deported, there will definitely be a threat to our lives. For sure we will be killed. Why are we being detained even though we did not commit a crime?"

A spokesperson for the UN refugee agency said the expulsion plan will pose a serious risk considering the humanitarian situation in Afghanistan. UNHCR Pakistan spokesperson Qaiser Khan Afridi said, "We are appealing to the government to come up with a comprehensive, sustainable mechanism to manage and register all these people who need international protection in Pakistan."

The Pakistani government says more than one hundred and forty thousand illegal immigrants, including Afghans, have already left the country voluntarily.