Rawalpindi, April 8
As Pakistan intensifies mass deportation of Afghan refugees, the businesses owned by Afghans in the commercial centres of Rawalpindi city and cantonment areas have started to shut down.
As the deadline of March 31 arrived, thousands of Afghan refugees were deported back to Afghanistan, according to local media reports.
The repatriation affected a large number of Afghans who have lived in Pakistan for decades, including many born in Pakistan and have never lived in Afghanistan.
Afghan shopkeepers in Rawalpindi have started selling their goods, locking up their stores, and disappearing, according to the country’s leading daily, The Express Tribune.
Additionally, various types of vehicles and heavy machinery previously used by Afghan nationals are also being sold off.
Many Afghan-owned shops in various areas of the city are either closed or have been sold, and several well-known Afghan hotels in the city and cantonment are no longer in operation, with their signs changed.