AI again asks Pakistan to stop detention, deportation of Afghans

KABUL (Pajhwok): Amnesty International (AI) has expressed grave concern over the continued detention, harassment and mass deportation of Afghan nationals in Pakistan, urging the country to immediately halt the deportations.

In an open letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Amnesty International Secretary General Agnes Callamard emphasized that Pakistani authorities must ensure the protection of Afghan refugees’ rights, particularly safeguarding them from arbitrary detention and forced eviction from refugee camps and other accommodations.

The global watchdog called on Pakistan to suspend the deportation of Afghan refugees and to ensure that individuals with international protection needs are protected in accordance with international human rights law.

AI urges the Pakistan to:

• Immediately stop the arbitrary arrests, detentions and harassment of Afghan refugees, reverse the decision to forcibly return refugees and formally suspend the ‘Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan’ in line with Pakistan’s international legal obligations including the principle of non-refoulement.
• Create well-resourced and accessible pathways for the registration of refugees, taking proactive measures to expedite the registration of refugees particularly at risk, including but not limited to women and girls, journalists, and those belonging to minority and ethnic communities, and those facing barriers due to gender, disability, language, among others.
• Ratify the 1951 Refugees Convention and its 1967 Protocol.
• Develop a comprehensive national legal framework for asylum and other forms of international protection in line with international refugee law and amend the Foreigners Act to prevent penalization of refugees and asylum seekers entering and residing in Pakistan.

The organization stated that the current repatriation plan is unlawful, as it violates core international human rights principles, including the right to non-refoulement.

The plan, now in its third and final phase, calls for the indiscriminate deportation of all Afghan refugees from Pakistan without providing formal safeguards for individuals at risk or those in need of international protection.

This year has also seen a troubling escalation in arrests and detentions, coinciding with the implementation of phases two and three of the repatriation plan. These measures have affected holders of Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) and Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), arrests and detentions have increased tenfold, with more than 115,000 cases recorded since the beginning of the year.

Amnesty International reported that detention practices across Pakistan have been largely arbitrary and lack due process. Detainees are often taken to detention centers where they have limited access to legal representation or contact with family members.

sa