UN rights experts call on Pakistan to axe plans for mass deportation of Afghans

UN human rights experts on Tuesday called on Pakistan to refrain from deporting Afghan nationals after Islamabad ordered all illegal immigrants, including 1.73 million Afghan citizens, to leave or face expulsion. Pakistani authorities, who have given illegal immigrants until Nov. 1 to leave, linked the measures to their allegations that Afghan nationals were involved in several suicide bombings this year. "We urge Pakistan to uphold the absolute and non-derogable principle of non-refoulement and prevent collective expulsion and forced return," the experts, a group of U.N. special rapporteurs, said in a statement.