Arrest, extortion of registered Afghans in Sindh continue

KABUL (Pajhwok): Pakistani authorities announced documented Afghans will not be harassed, but there are complaints that legal refugees are still arrested and released in return for bribes, the Afghan consular in Karachi said on Tuesday.

The government of Sindh and prison officials, according to recent media reports, had warned district police personnel of being dismissed from their positions if they harassed legal Afghans.

The Consulate of Afghanistan in Karachi wrote on its X handle Consul Maulvi Syed Abdul Jabbar Takhari met Sindh Home Minister Haris Nawaz.

Takhari discussed the problems of the Afghan refugees residing in Sindh province with Nawaz and called for an end to their predicament.

The diplomat referred to Pakistani authorities’ repeated promises that the Afghan nationals with residency documents would not be arrested or harassed.

But the promises had not been kept as complaints about the arrest of Afghan citizens in different areas of the province and their release in return for bribes continued to pour in, he added.

Takhari also asked Nawaz to facilitate his visit to temporary detention centres for undocumented Afghan refugees. He also urged Pakistani officials to release the Afghan nationals held in Karachi.

The caretaker minister ordered the dismissal of the district officials involved in the harassment or extortion of Afghan refugees.

Nawaz also assured the acting consul that strict measures would be taken to curb illegal activities by provincial policemen.

In October, the Pakistan government gave 1.7 million Afghan refugees living in the country until Nov. 1 to leave voluntarily or face arrests and forced deportations. A series of forcible eviction is still ongoing.

aw/mud

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