is tied to the registration system. Only registered refugees are entitled to free healthcare services on equal terms with Pakistani nationals, which includes access to government health programs such as immunization campaigns, tuberculosis (TB) control, and HIV prevention and treatment.81 Undocumented Afghans were reported to have very few options for good quality healthcare especially maternal and postnatal healthcare.82 Issue III Covid-19 & Statelessness 41. During the Covid-19 pandemic the challenges faced by stateless people in Pakistan were exacerbated. Already facing barriers in accessing their rights due to their status and living conditions, stateless communities in Pakistan faced added barriers in accessing nationality and documentation, healthcare and emergency relief, education and work as well as movement restrictions and an increase in Gender Based Violence (GBV).83 42. More specifically, due to closures of public offices, including NADRA offices, and postponement of High Court hearings, there were increased delays in pending applications to NADRA84 and in registration and documentation cases before the court.85 Moreover, with the digitization of CNICs in Pakistan, stricter registration requirements were introduced, exacerbating the exclusion of the Bengali, Bihari and other communities from documentation.86 43. In July 2021, the government of Pakistan announced that “foreigners, migrants and illegal migrants” will be issued Alien Registration Cards (ARC) as documentation that would also enable them to access COVID-19 vaccinations and work permits for private employment, private education etc.87 However, holding an identity as an alien leads to the cancellation of citizenship as recorded on the NADRA database and to the stripping of the status of those who were recognized as citizens through NADRA. If an ARC is issued to a family member, the family’s citizenship cards are cancelled collectively. A CNIC can still be issued if the ARC is revoked, however, due to the deep-rooted <https://trafig.eu/output/working-papers/figurations-of-displacement-in-and-beyond-pakistan/D054-TWPFigurations-of%20Displacement-Pakistan-Mielke-etal-2021-v02p-2021-11-05.pdf>, accessed July 13, 2022] at 19. 81 European Union Agency for Asylum, ‘Pakistan, Situation of Afghan Refugees: Country of Origin Information Report’ (LU: Publications Office, 2022), [Available at: https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2847/613763] accessed July 13, 2022. 82 Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) International, ‘Meeting Regular Health Needs amid Coronavirus in Pakistan’, (Project Update, 8 September 2020) <https://www.msf.org/meeting-regular-health-needs-amid-coronaviruspakistan> accessed July 13, 2022. 83Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, ‘Citizens – COVID-19 – Government: Pakistan’s Response’, (Report, July 2020) <https://hrcp-web.org/hrcpweb/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/2020-Citizens-Covid19-GovernmentPakistans-Response.pdf] accessed July 13, 2022. 84 ‘Coronavirus Lockdown: NADRA Reopens Offices to Public Nationwide’, Geo News, (Online, 4 May 2020) <https://www.geo.tv/latest/286296-coronavirus-lockdown-nadra-reopens-nationwide-offices-to-public], accessed July 13, 2022. 85 Sindh High Court, Circular No. RHC/Circular/2020 (22 March 2020); Chief Justice of the Sindh High Court, Directions (30 March 2020) 86 Representative, Ministry of Human Rights, Interviewed on 19 April, 2022 in Musawi and Institute on Statelessness and Inclusion, ‘The Impact of COVID-19 on Stateless Communities in Pakistan’, (July 2022), forthcoming, at 27. 87 ‘Pakistan to Issue Specific Identity Cards For Foreigners Staying In Country, Ary News, (Online, 5 July 2021) <https://arynews.tv/pakistanissue-specific-identity-cards-foreigners-staying-country/> accessed July 13, 2022. Also corroborated by KSIs with Representatives at Imkaan Welfare Organization and Pakistani Bengali Action Committee. 13