If these Afghan women are forced out of Pakistan, they say Taliban horrors await them at home
When the Pakistani government abruptly announced all foreigners illegally living in the country had to leave, hundreds of thousands of Afghans packed up and headed to the border.
But Zahra and Paavaana, whose names have been changed for their safety, are staying put.
Both women worked with international NGOs in Afghanistan but fled to Pakistan after the Taliban returned to power.
They say the fear of retribution if they go back is worse than the risk of going to prison if they remain where they are.
They spoke to the ABC from a flat in Pakistan, where they are hiding from authorities, and have not left their small room in a week out of fear they may be caught.
Zahra worked for an Australian government-funded program in Afghanistan helping women in rural areas.
"If I'm deported back to Afghanistan, definitely, we will be arrested by the current regime, and they will punish us, because our crime was we worked for international organisations," she said. 
"I want to request to the Pakistan government, please don't send us back, we worked to promote women's empowerment and now our life is in danger."
Pakistan ordered undocumented foreigners to leave by November 1, saying they'll face arrest and deportation from that date.
The ruling mostly affects 1.7 million Afghan migrants, many of whom escaped Taliban rule.
By staying, Zahra and Paavaana are resisting immense pressure from Pakistan authorities who have been engaging in a widespread crackdown on refugees.
This has included bulldozing places housing Afghans, going door to door to find them, and offering rewards to people tipping off authorities about migrants.
"I don't feel safe now, because I'm living like I'm in a jail, I can't go out," Paavaana said. 
"I'm very worried that one day Pakistani authorities will come to our house and knock on the door and say, 'you should go back to your home country', I'm too scared.
"I just want to live in a safe place, I can't live independently right now … I'm locked down because of this situation."
Other Afghans have been rushing to the border worried about arrest in Pakistan.
Many initially left Afghanistan because of the Taliban, which has been internationally condemned for taking most rights away from women and girls since it took over in 2021.
Paavaana divorced her abusive husband and left the country last year, but she believes he will go to the Taliban's courts to force her to re-marry him if she returns.
Under the Taliban, women are not allowed to serve as judges, practice law, or prosecute crimes in Afghanistan and Paavaana would struggle to fight her husband in court.
She's also from the Hazara ethnic group, which has faced persecution by the Taliban.
"I'm worried that if I return back, the Taliban will put me in jail," she said. 
"It's too hard in Afghanistan for women and girls, they force marriage, it's the story of millions of girls in Afghanistan, I'm just an example of millions of girls."
Paavaana and Zahra, along with other Afghan migrants being forced to leave, are the casualties of a political battle between Pakistan's government and the Taliban.
Pakistan's interim interior minister Sarfaz Bugti said expelling Afghans is a security measure, claiming more than half of suicide bombings this year were by Afghans.
There's been an increase in attacks in Pakistan, but the Taliban has rejected that figure and issued an ominous warning on Friday.
"As you sow, so shall you reap," the Taliban's defence minister Mullah Muhammad Yaqoob said.
The ABC has made requests for an interview or comment from Pakistan's caretaker government, but has not received a response.
Pakistan is in caretaker mode before it heads to an election in February and the interim government is widely believed to be guided by the powerful military.
The country is also facing a debilitating economic crisis and the government has said undocumented Afghans who don't pay taxes are a drain on the system.
The UN and human rights groups have been urging Pakistan to stop the expulsion, but government officials have insisted this move is following international law.
Terror attacks on the military, politicians, police, and public places have gone up this year in Pakistan.
Some of the attacks are linked to the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which shares an ideology with the Afghan Taliban.
The TTP largely operates along the Afghan-Pakistan border, and it has long wanted to overthrow the government in Islamabad by waging terror attacks.
Many experts and human rights groups argue expelling vulnerable Afghan refugees is not the solution to the increase in militancy.
Some have lived in Pakistan for generations, fleeing the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan in the 80s, decades of militant persecution, or war waged by Western countries including Australia.
"It is unacceptable to hold them to account for the wrongs of a select few," Pakistan's Human Rights Commission wrote last month.
"They have a moral right to seek refuge in this country and to be treated with dignity and empathy."
Zahra and Paavaana are bunkering down and will do anything to avoid going back to Afghanistan.
As early childhood educators, all they want to do is work and learn.
"We are struggling with a difficult situation and just we want to work, we want to continue our education, we want to leave, we want to help the community," Zahra said. 
"I want to call on the international community, please, please don't forget us."
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