Stop arresting, harassing Afghan refugees, Amnesty asks Pakistan

KABUL (Pajhwok): Marking World Refugee Day, Amnesty International on Tuesday asked Pakistani authorities tp urgently stop harassing and arbitrarily arresting Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers

Many Afghans, who went to Pakistan after the regime change in 2021, they have been subjected to waves of arrests, arbitrary detentions and the threat of deportation.

Amnesty International said due to considerable delays in the registration process, most Afghans do not hold “proof of registration” cards – the identity document entitling Afghan refugees to remain in Pakistan and many now have expired visas.

Amnesty recently spoke to nine Afghans, including six who had been detained in Pakistan over the course of the last three months, as well as conducting interviews with Afghan refugees in Pakistan last year.

Those who talked to Amnesty said they were unable to complain publicly about their situation because of their precarious legal status, with the situation being particularly difficult for women and girls who face discrimination in both Afghanistan and Pakistan.

Afghans who have sought asylum have also had to endure a prolonged process when trying to obtain proof of registration from the UN Refugee Agency.

Combined with lengthy visa renewals from the Pakistani government, these delays have allowed some Pakistani police officials to harass them and for other authorities to extort money from them – practices that have been reported across the country, including in Sindh, Karachi, Peshawar, Chaman and Quetta, among others.

Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s South Asia Deputy Director, said: “The situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is deeply concerning. Being unable to return home or stay permanently in Pakistan, they are caught in an impossible situation from which there is no escape. Their ambiguous legal status and arduous processes for asylum or third country relocation have made them even more vulnerable.”

Dissanayake called on he UNHCR to expedite registration and reviews of applications from Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan, and the Government of Pakistan must stop arbitrarily arresting and harassing Afghan refugees.

Afghanistan acting deputy prime minister for political affairs Maulvi Abdul Kabir in a message on the occasion of the World Refugee Day asked Afghans living in foreign countries to return to their homeland confidently.

He said those involved in human trafficking should be dealt with in accordance with Sharia law.

Recently, the Afghan embassy in Islamabad said Pakistani forces had arrested dozens of Afghans in Islamabad and surrounding areas.

Afghans living in Pakistan are facing problems in buying SIM cards, opening bank accounts and renting houses for temporary residence due to lack of immigration documents.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, more than 3.7 million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan, including 1.4 million registered.

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