KARACHI — Police on Wednesday launched a large-scale operation to demolish hundreds of houses vacated by Afghan nationals in Karachi’s Sohrab Goth area, as authorities moved to prevent the land from being illegally occupied by criminal groups.
According to officials, the land spread across 200 acres belongs to the Malir Development Authority (MDA) and originally comprised 3,117 residential units, including 200 to 250 homes occupied by Pakistani families. The site, known locally as the Afghan Camp, once housed nearly 30,000 Afghan refugees.
Law enforcement officials said that of the roughly 15,680 Afghan nationals living there recently, around 14,296 have already returned to Afghanistan under the federal government’s repatriation policy. The remaining 1,384 are still in the process of leaving the country in scheduled phases.
DIG West Zone Irfan Ali Baloch told Dawn.com that the land had been allocated decades ago to accommodate displaced Afghans, but with most residents now gone, it had become vulnerable to encroachment.
“The purpose of this operation is to prevent illegal occupation by land mafias,” he said. “Structures built over nearly 20 acres were demolished today, and the operation will continue for the next three to four days.”
Baloch added that he has written to police authorities, recommending the formation of a special oversight committee comprising representatives from the city administration, police, and relevant institutions to ensure the land remains secure after clearance.
Officials described the Sohrab Goth Afghan Camp as the largest settlement of displaced Afghans in Karachi, where families lived for decades before the federal government ordered their repatriation.
Pakistan began enforcing its repatriation policy in October 2023, when undocumented immigrants were given a deadline to voluntarily leave the country or face arrest and deportation. A nationwide deportation drive followed in November, primarily targeting Afghans without valid documents.
In March 2024, the government initiated preparations for the second phase of the repatriation plan, which includes sending back nearly one million documented Afghan nationals. Authorities instructed district administrations and police to compile detailed data on Afghan residents across Pakistan.
The Interior Ministry later set March 31, 2025, as the final deadline for Afghan Citizen Card holders to leave voluntarily, warning that mass deportations would follow.
Officials say the current demolition drive in Sohrab Goth is part of broader efforts to reclaim government land and prevent it from falling back into unauthorized hands, marking another phase in Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to repatriate Afghan nationals and curb illegal land occupation.
