HRCP shocked by maltreatment of Afghan refugees

KABUL (Pajhwok): The Human Right Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) says it is appalled by the security forces’ ill-treatment of Afghan refugees.

The rights watchdog wrote on its X account: “HRCP is appalled by reports of the ill treatment being meted out to Afghan nationals in Sindh Islamabad, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa as part of the government's deportation drive, with even minors being deported and separated from their families in Pakistan as a result.”

Despite strong criticism from civil society and international refugee agencies, the government of Pakistan had contravened global customary law by persisting with this move, according to HRCP.

The provincial and federal governments must ensure that all Afghan nationals were treated with dignity and that children were, under no circumstances, separated from their parents, it added.

“We would still urge the government to reconsider this ill-thought move,” the commission concluded.

sa/mud