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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s government on Friday said “we decide who stays,” after the United Nations refugee chief urged the country to pause its mass expulsion of Afghans after a major earthquake.

Thousands of Afghans who were registered as refugees have surged over the border from Pakistan in recent days, with returns escalating despite a weekend earthquake that killed 2,200 people and flattened entire villages in Afghanistan.

It prompted a call by Filippo Grandi, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees: “Given the circumstances, I appeal to the (government of Pakistan) to pause the implementation of the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan.”

Pakistan has hosted Afghans fleeing violence and humanitarian crises for more than four decades, from the Soviet invasion to the 2021 Taliban takeover.

“Any people with no documentation should leave. This is what Pakistan is doing and what any other country will be doing, including in Europe and other countries... it is our territory, we decide who stays in,” Shafqat Ali Khan, the foreign ministry spokesperson told a press briefing.

The World Health Organization estimated 270,000 returnees have recently settled in the earthquake affected districts which border Pakistan.

Afghans awaiting relocation to Germany have reported several police raids on guest houses where German authorities have asked them to stay for months on end while their cases are processed.

Many of those living in the quake-hit villages in eastern Afghanistan were among the more than four million Afghans forced back to the country from Iran and Pakistan in recent years.

Various cohorts of Afghans have found differing degrees of stability, including access to work and education, in Pakistan.

Some were born and raised there, while others transited en route to resettlement in the West.

However, Pakistan’s government, citing an uptick in violent attacks and insurgent campaigns, launched a crackdown in 2023 to evict them, painting the population as “terrorists and criminals.”

More than 1.2 million Afghans have since been forced to return from Pakistan, including more than 443,000 this year alone, according to the United Nations.

The crackdown has most recently targeted an estimated 1.3 million refugees with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards issued by the UN refugee agency UNHCR.

Islamabad has set a deadline of September 1 for them to leave or face arrest and deportation.

KARACHI: Pakistan has set a seafood export target of $600 million for the financial year 2025–26, the maritime affairs ministry said on Friday, as officials and exporters held talks with Chinese partners in Beijing this week to scale up aquaculture and frozen food ventures.

The fisheries sector earned $465 million in FY 2024–25, according to government data, with China the country’s biggest buyer. Officials say new memorandums of understanding and business-to-business deals signed with Chinese companies are central to lifting production and establishing Pakistan as a regional seafood hub.

“Pakistan aims to reach $600 million in seafood exports in the upcoming financial year,” Federal Maritime Affairs Minister Junaid Anwar Chaudhry was quoted as saying in a statement by his office after he met exporters in China, stressing that memorandums of understanding and business-to-business agreements would be central to boosting fisheries and establishing the country as a regional hub.

“Pakistan ranks as the third-largest global exporter of mud crabs, shipping over 3,000 tons of live mud crabs to China, its biggest importer,” he added.

Exporters said aquaculture collaboration with Chinese firms was key to accessing distant markets. 

Tariq Memon, international sales manager at Arabian Sea Products, was quoted in the maritime ministry statement as saying his company was developing holding systems to cultivate and preserve live mud crabs and lobsters. 

“This initiative, in partnership with Chinese firms, seeks to extend the survival time of live seafood to two or three weeks, enabling access to distant markets such as China,” he said.

Memon emphasized that success would hinge on technology transfer, investment, and aquaculture expertise from Chinese partners.

Pakistani companies also proposed joint ventures to expand beyond seafood. 

Saeed Ahmed Fareed, CEO of Legend International (Pvt) Ltd, said his Karachi-based firm, which operates a 65,000-square-foot processing facility with a daily capacity of 40 tons, was seeking Chinese collaboration in value-added frozen seafood and poultry products such as chicken feet. The company already holds approval from China’s General Administration of Customs (GACC).

“Collaboration would help both parties reduce costs, gain economies of scale, and broaden export reach to the US, Europe, and regional markets,” Fareed explained.

Other exporters, including Ali Reimoo of Karim Impex, said they were exploring opportunities in China and neighboring regions.

Beyond seafood, exporters highlighted the untapped potential of freeze-drying technology, widely used across Asia for fruit and vegetable exports. 

Asif Muhammad Ali Shah, director of Perfect Food Industries, said countries such as Thailand, Vietnam and China had established strong markets, but Pakistan lacked such facilities despite international demand for mango, guava, falsa, okra and bitter melon.

“Although countries like Thailand, Vietnam, and China supply freeze-dried fruits and vegetables, Pakistan lacks such facilities despite strong international demand,” Shah said, pointing to high equipment costs and lengthy processing times. 

He added that international buyers were ready to commit to annual contracts if local capacity was built, particularly for diaspora communities and niche markets abroad.

Minister Chaudhry said investments in cold chain infrastructure and freezing technologies had already laid the groundwork for future seafood-specific freeze-drying plants. 

“Current infrastructure and market trends indicate promising potential for growth in this sector in the near future,” he added.