Pakistan has ordered all unauthorised Afghan asylum seekers – an estimated 1.7 million people – to leave the country by November.

This year has seen a spike in attacks along the two countries’ border, which Islamabad blames on Afghan operatives.

The incident has also fuelled resentment in Islamabad, which announced a crackdown on migrants on Tuesday.

Pakistan was urged by the Taliban government to rethink its “unacceptable” move.

Pakistan-targeting militants have repeatedly been denied refuge by Afghanistan’s rulers.

As many as 50 people were killed last week during a religious celebration in Mastung city, near the Afghan border.

When he announced on Tuesday that Pakistan would crack down on “illegal” Afghans, Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti did not directly mention that attack or another in Balochistan province.

International law guarantees the right to seek refuge in a foreign country. Many Afghan refugees have been taken in by Pakistan during decades of war, particularly after the Taliban reclaimed control of Afghanistan in 2021.

According to the UN, 1.3 million Afghans are registered as refugees, and another 880,000 have legal status.

Mr Bugti, however, claimed on Tuesday that 1.7 million people are in the country “illegally” – referring to those who have not yet received refugee status.

According to him, either voluntarily or through deportation, those people must leave the country by the end of the month.