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Pakistan opens holding centres ahead of Afghan deportations

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan face the threat of detention and deportation.

Hundreds of thousands of Afghans living in Pakistan face the threat of detention and deportation, as a government deadline for them to leave sparked a mass exodus.

The government has given 1.7 million Afghans it says are living illegally in the country until November 1 to leave voluntarily or be forcibly removed.

Forty-nine holding centres, some capable of holding several thousand people, opened across the country on Wednesday to process and deport Afghans, state media said.

(Source: AFP)