Pakistanis among migrants being detained at Poland-Belarus Border

Migrant crossings from Belarus are concentrated in Poland’s Podlaskie Region | Photo: Europol

The border between Poland and Belarus remains an extremely dangerous and inhospitable line to cross for migrants. But hundreds, including Pakistanis are taking the risk by putting their lives in harm’s way.

The authorities in Poland have said that an increasing large number of Pakistanis have been detected along with Afghans, Eritreans and people from other nationalities in 2025 trying to illegally cross the border from Belarus.

In a special details secured by The Future Asia, from 1 January to 22 June, 2025 the Polish Border Guards have reported almost 14,000 attempts to illegally cross the border – around 240 in January, over 580 in February, over 3,000 in March, almost 2,300 in April, over 4,000 in May and over 3,800 so far in June.

According to information from the Border Guard, the foreigners detected in 2025 were dominated by citizens of Afghanistan, Eritrea, Pakistan, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan, Iraq and Iran.

The latest figures come at a time when Pakistan and Ukraine recently exchanged statements about alleged ‘Pakistani mercenaries.’ Pakistan rejected Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy’s claims that Pakistani nationals are among foreign mercenaries fighting alongside Russian forces in Ukraine.

The strongly worded response from Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry came a day after Zelenskyy, during a frontline visit to Ukrainian troops in the northeastern Vovchansk sector, posted on X that his military had encountered foreign fighters – including individuals from Pakistan, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and African countries – on the battlefield.

“We will respond,” Zelenskyy wrote in the post.

In its rebuttal, Islamabad said no evidence had been presented to substantiate the accusation.

“To date, Pakistan has not been formally approached by Ukrainian authorities, nor has any verifiable evidence been provided to back such claims,” the Foreign Ministry said. “Such unfounded assertions risk undermining bilateral relations and serve no constructive purpose.”

Polish officials say on average, this amounts to around 80 attempts per day. By 15 June, at least 155 helpers/organizers had also been detained.

For nearly four years, Poland has remained in a constant state of high alert over its neighbour, Belarus, which faces accusations of deliberately enticing asylum seekers from distant, impoverished countries and funneling them in large numbers toward the Polish border, allegedly to create chaos and deepen divisions within Polish society.

In the whole of 2024, over 30.5 thousand attempts to illegally cross the Polish-Belarusian border were recorded. The Border Guard also detained at least 408 people at the same border for aiding and organizing illegal border crossing.

Amid fears of use of illegal immigrants as a war tool, Poland on March 26, 2025 enacted a new law to restrict the rights to request asylum. Polish President Andrzej Duda signed the new law at a time when Poland is strengthening its border with Belarus due to what it describes as hybrid war tactics using migration.

“I believe that it is necessary to strengthen the security of our borders and the security of Poles,” Duda said in announcing that he had signed the bill after its passage by lawmakers.

The new legislations introduced temporary restrictions on the right to submit an application for international protection for those who have crossed the border into the NATO and European Union member state illegally.

The bill was criticized by human rights activists.

The Polish Border Guard is a state security agency responsible for patrolling Poland's borders. It was re-established in its modern form in 1990, following the end of the communist era. Today, the Border Guard plays a crucial role in managing migration flows and preventing illegal border crossings, particularly along the eastern border with Belarus.

Poland and Latvia – as well as Lithuania, Estonia and Finland – have been grappling with a surge in irregular border crossings since 2020, orchestrated by the Belarusian autocrat, Alexander Lukashenko, who they fear is seeking to destabilise EU countries.

About 17,000 people made an irregular crossing over the EU’s eastern land border (which includes Ukraine) in 2024, the EU border agency, Frontex, has reported.