Immigration to Pakistan

{{Main|Afghans in Pakistan|Bangladeshis in Pakistan|Arabs in Pakistan}}

As of 2009, an estimated 2.1% of the population of Pakistan had foreign origins. However, the number of immigrants in Pakistan recently grew sharply. Immigrants from South Asia make up a growing proportion of immigrants in Pakistan. The largest group of immigrants in Pakistan is Bangladeshi, followed by Afghan, Tajik, Uzbek, Turkmen, Indian, Sri Lankan, Burmese[http://www.outlookindia.com/article.aspx?200305 Homeless in Karachi – Outlook India]{{Cite web |url=http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs/SRI-rohingya.htm |title=SRI On-Site Action Alert: Rohingya Refugees of Burma and UNHCR's repatriation program – Burma Library |access-date=2010-04-02 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110911115620/http://www.burmalibrary.org/docs/SRI-rohingya.htm |archive-date=2011-09-11 |url-status=dead }} and Briton.{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/shared/spl/hi/in_depth/brits_abroad/html/asia.stm|title=Brits Abroad|work=BBC News|access-date=22 January 2010 | date=6 December 2006}} Other expatriate communities in Pakistan are Chechens, Filipinos, Turks, Persian, Chinese,{{citation|url=http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KI11Df01.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090913090000/http://www.atimes.com/atimes/South_Asia/KI11Df01.html|url-status=unfit|archive-date=2009-09-13|title= Chinese shun Pakistan exodus|periodical=Asia Times|date=11 September 2009|access-date=2009-09-11|first=Syed|last=Fazl-e-Haider}} Americans,{{citation|url=http://www.overseasdigest.com/amcit_nu2.htm |title=Private American Citizens Residing Abroad |publisher=Bureau of Consular Affairs |year=1999 |access-date=2009-09-17 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100326040310/http://www.overseasdigest.com/amcit_nu2.htm |archive-date=2010-03-26 }} previously Bosnian refugees,{{cite news| url=https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/blonde-muslims-find-shelter-in-pakistan-refugees-from-bosnia-were-given-a-warm-welcome-in-a-distant-land-ahmed-rashid-writes-from-islamabad-1493968.html | location=London | work=The Independent | first=Ahmed | last=Rashid | title=Blonde Muslims find shelter in Pakistan: Refugees from Bosnia were given a warm welcome in a distant land, Ahmed Rashid writes from Islamabad | date=26 June 1993}} and many others. Migrants from different countries of Arab World, especially Egypt, Iraq, Palestine, Syria, Lebanon, Libya, Tunisia, and Yemen, are in the thousands. Nearly all illegal migrants in Pakistan are Muslim refugees and they are either accepted or ignored by the local population. There is no political support or legislation to deport these refugees from Pakistan.

Sheikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the Pakistani Bengali Action Committee, claimed that there were 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people in Pakistan, of which 132 are in Karachi. They are found in various areas of Pakistan such as Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam and Lahore.{{Cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/347968/fringe-pakistan-bengali-speaking-pakistanis-demand-right-to-vote/|title=Fringe Pakistan: Bengali-speaking Pakistanis demand right to vote|date=10 March 2012|work=The Express Tribune|quote=Shaikh Muhammad Feroze, the chairman of the committee, said during a press conference on Friday that political parties and the government should acknowledge the sacrifices of their ancestors. 'We live in Sindh and feel proud to be called Sindhis rather than Bengalis. We appeal to Sindhi nationalists and Sindhis to help us in our struggle,' he added. He said that Bengali-speaking people were not given educational rights as they did not possess national identity cards. 'Our children can’t get an education after matriculation because colleges ask for the identity cards but the National Database Registration Authority has never accepted us as Pakistani citizens.' Shaikh said that over three million Bengalis and Biharis were grateful to the government for accepting them as Pakistani citizens. 'We postponed a hunger strike planned for March 25 after the government made decisions,' he added. 'We can go on a hunger strike, if our rights are not given.' He claimed that there were 200 settlements of Bengali-speaking people across the country, including 132 in Karachi. They populate different parts of Pakistan, including Thatta, Badin, Hyderabad, Tando Adam and Lahore.|access-date=26 December 2016}}

Experts say that the migration of both Bengalis and Burmese (Rohingya) to Pakistan started in the 1980s and continued until 1998. Large scale Rohingya migration to Karachi made Karachi one of the largest population centres of Rohingyas in the world after Myanmar.{{Cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/news/1165299|title=Identity issue haunts Karachi's Rohingya population|last=Rehman|first=Zia Ur|date=23 February 2015|work=Dawn|quote=Their large-scale migration had made Karachi one of the largest Rohingya population centres outside Myanmar but afterwards the situation started turning against them.|access-date=26 December 2016}} The Burmese community of Karachi is spread out over 60 slums in Karachi such as the Burmi Colony in Korangi, Arakanabad, Machchar colony, Bilal colony, Ziaul Haq Colony and Godhra Camp.{{Cite news|url=http://www.thefridaytimes.com/tft/the-rohingyas-of-karachi/|title=The Rohingyas of Karachi|last=Khan|first=Naimat|date=12 June 2015}}

Thousands of Uyghur Muslims have also migrated to the Gilgit-Baltistan region of Pakistan, some of them with links to terror groups in Xinjiang, China.https://www.iiss.org/online-analysis/online-analysis/2019/09/csdp-militancy-in-pakistan

{{Further|Afghan refugees|Afghans in Pakistan}}

{{See also|Anti-Afghan sentiment}}

As of December 2020, around 1,435,445 registered Afghan refugees reside and work in Pakistan.{{citation|url=https://reporting.unhcr.org/sites/default/files/Statistical%20Factsheet%20Onward%20movements%20of%20Afghan%20refugees%20March-April%202021.pdf|title=Onward Movements of Afghan Refugees |date=March–April 2021|publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees|access-date=2021-08-20}}{{Cite web|url=https://data2.unhcr.org/en/country/pak|title=Registered Afghan Refugees in Pakistan|publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees|date=31 December 2020|access-date=2021-08-20}}{{Cite web |url=https://www.unhcr.org/pk/12999-government-to-deliver-first-new-por-smartcards-to-afghan-refugees.html |title=Government delivered first new Proof of Registration smartcards to Afghan refugees |publisher=United Nations High Commission for Refugees |date=25 May 2021 |access-date=2021-08-20}}{{cite web |url=http://unhcrpk.org/unhcr-welcomes-new-government-policy-for-afghans-in-pakistan/|title=UNHCR welcomes new government policy for Afghans in Pakistan|publisher=unhcrpk.org |year=2016|access-date=2021-08-20}} Most of them reside in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Balochistan, Pakistan. They are expected to leave Pakistan and return to Afghanistan in the coming years.{{cite web |url=https://www.jeewaconsulting.com/why-is-pakistan-deporting-afghan-migrants/|title=Why is Pakistan Deporting Afghan Migrants?|publisher=jeewaconsulting.com |year=2023|access-date=2024-12-10}}

In addition, about 500 Somalis, 60–80 Iraqis and 20–30 Iranians were reported to be temporarily residing in cities such as Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Karachi. Nearly all of these are asylum seekers waiting to be resettled in countries of the Americas, Europe or Oceania.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

{{Further|Alien (law)}}

{{See also|Deportation of undocumented Afghans from Pakistan}}

The Express Tribune reported in January 2012 that there were 5 million illegal aliens in Pakistan. Around 2 million were Bangladeshis, 2.5 million were citizens of Afghanistan and the other 0.5 million were from various other places such as Africa, Iran, Iraq and Myanmar.{{Cite news|url=http://tribune.com.pk/story/322325/five-million-illegal-immigrants-residing-in-pakistan/|title=Five million illegal immigrants residing in Pakistan|date=16 January 2012|work=The Express Tribune|quote=ISLAMABAD: Around five million illegal immigrants have been residing in different cities of Pakistan for more than three decades. The illegal immigrants, around two million Bangladeshis, 2.5 million Afghanis and 0.5 million other nationals including Africans, Iranians, Iraqis and Myanmars, are currently living in Quetta, Peshawar, Lahore, Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other cities, an official said on Monday.|access-date=26 December 2016}}

Since early 2002, Pakistan's government took steps to determine the number of illegal aliens in its country. The National Alien Registration Authority (NARA) started registering illegal immigrants in January 2006. According to NARA, there were an estimated 1.8 million illegal aliens in Pakistan's commercial capital Karachi in 2007.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_2-12-2004_pg7_29|title=Govt orders action against alimmigrantsiens entering Pakistan|date=2 December 2004|work=Daily Times|access-date=17 January 2010}} Others believe that there may be about 3.35 million illegal aliens in Pakistan.{{cite web|url=http://202.83.164.26/wps/portal/Moi/!ut/p/c0/04_SB8K8xLLM9MSSzPy8xBz9CP0os_hQN68AZ3dnIwMDRxdLAyMfCyMLEz9jY38fc_2CbEdFACbZ0lA!/?WCM_GLOBAL_CONTEXT=/wps/wcm/connect/MoiCL/ministry/general/national+alien+registration+authority|title=Illegal immigrants in Pakistan|publisher=National Alien Registration Authority|access-date=17 January 2010}} As of January 2010, the number of illegal aliens in Karachi was estimated to be between 1.6 and 2 million.{{cite news|url=https://www.nation.com.pk/09-Jan-2010/malik-gives-30day-time-to-illegal-immigrants|title=Malik gives 30-day time to illegal immigrants|last=Malik gives 30-day time to illegal immigrants|date=9 January 2010 |work=The Nation|access-date=9 January 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2010%5C01%5C09%5Cstory_9-1-2010_pg12_2|title='Get registered in 30 days or face the music': Clock starts ticking for illegal immigrants|date=9 January 2010|work=Daily Times|access-date=9 January 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93452&Itemid=1|title=Immigrants in Karachi warned to get themselves registered in 30 days|date=8 January 2010|publisher=Associated Press of Pakistan|access-date=8 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120304120128/http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=93452&Itemid=1|archive-date=4 March 2012|url-status=dead}}

It was reported a decade ago that thousands of citizens from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, India, Burma, Sri Lanka, Iran, Iraq, Nigeria, Somalia, Jordan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Azerbaijan{{cite news|url=https://www.dawn.com/news/443873/other-voices-sindhi-press-sindh-assembly-should-play-its-due-role|title=Sindh Assembly should play its due role|date=10 February 2009 |work=Dawn|access-date=17 January 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/2008/10/07/ed.htm#6|title=Illegal immigrants|date=7 October 2008|work=Dawn|access-date=17 January 2010}} were residing in Karachi without legal documentation.{{cite news|url=http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/08/content_12777290.htm|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121106231704/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2010-01/08/content_12777290.htm|url-status=dead|archive-date=6 November 2012|title=Illegal immigrants get two weeks to leave Karachi: minister |last=Fang Yang |date=8 January 2010|agency=Xinhua News Agency|access-date=8 January 2010}} This included thousands of Muslim students from Thailand, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia studying in the Pakistani madrasahs,{{cite web|url=http://www.southasiaanalysis.org/%5Cpapers16%5Cpaper1501.html|title=TERRORISM IN SOUTHERN THAILAND: AN UPDATE|last=B.Raman|date=15 August 2005|publisher=South Asia Analysis Group|access-date=15 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100613052141/http://southasiaanalysis.org/papers16/paper1501.html|archive-date=13 June 2010|url-status=usurped}} while thousands of women from Bangladesh and Burma were working as maids and prostitutes there; most of them are illegal aliens.{{cite web|url=http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1182445012989&pagename=Zone-English-News/NWELayout|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070801230638/http://www.islamonline.net/servlet/Satellite?c=Article_C&cid=1182445012989&pagename=Zone-English-News%2FNWELayout|url-status=dead|archive-date=1 August 2007|title=Immigrant Dream Shattered in Karachi|last=Aamir Latif|date=24 June 2007|publisher=Islam Online|access-date=9 January 2010}}

{{Wikinews|46 illegal Afghan immigrants suffocate in truck in Pakistan}}

According to some sources, thousands of radicals of Arab origin who entered the country illegally to fight in Afghanistan after the Soviet invasion in 1979, and later against the US-led invasion in October 2001, still remain in the country.{{citation needed|date=January 2025}}

Although the presence of illegal aliens in Pakistan is against the law, the Government of Pakistan has not made a serious effort to deport them until January 2010 when Pakistani Interior Minister Rehman Malik asked illegal aliens to either leave or register themselves with the department concerned. This action was taken following the bomb attack and targeted killings of political activists in the city, against foreign militants operating in Pakistan.{{cite news|url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/Civil-strife/567977|title=Civil strife|last=Ruchika Talwar|date=16 January 2010 |work=The Indian Express|access-date=17 January 2010}}

According to NARA, in 2009 there were foreign nationals from over 76 countries, mostly from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Tajikistan, India and Burma illegally living and working in the country as labourers involved in construction businesses and others which require unskilled manpower,{{cite news|url=http://www.dawn.com/2009/01/16/local18.htm|title=Steps planned to register illegal aliens|date=16 January 2009 |work=Dawn|access-date=17 January 2010}} whilst most of the illegal aliens are those who intend to use Pakistan as a transit country to immigrate to Western countries.{{cite news|url=https://www.nation.com.pk/13-Jan-2010/illegal-immigrants-a-grave-security-threat|title=Illegal immigrants a grave security threat|last=Sikander Shaheen|date=13 January 2010|work=The Nation|access-date=6 February 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110916113838/http://www.nation.com.pk/pakistan-news-newspaper-daily-english-online/Politics/13-Jan-2010/Illegal-immigrants-a-grave-security-threat|archive-date=16 September 2011|url-status=live}}

• Demographics of Pakistan
• Rohingya people in Pakistan
• Bengalis in Pakistan
• List of sovereign states and dependent territories by immigrant population

{{Reflist|2}}

• [http://www.dgip.gov.pk/ Directorate General of Immigration & Passports]
• [http://www.interior.gov.pk/ Ministry of Interior, Government of Pakistan]
• [http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/page?page=49e487016 UNHCR country operations profile – Pakistan]

{{Immigration to Pakistan}}

{{Asia topic|Immigration to}}

{{Pakistan topics}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Immigration To Pakistan}}

Category:Demographics of Pakistan