Police continue incarcerating Afghan nationals holding United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR’s) stay permits in Pakistan, The Guardian reported.
Muniza Kakar, a lawyer of an Afghan detainee says that more than 450 Afghan refugees have been arrested with refugee status so far.
According to the Afghan detainee’s lawyer, following the strict policy of the Pakistani government towards Afghan nationals, at least four detainees have died, and thousands of people including children have been put behind bars.
Ms. Kakar further added that more than 800 Afghan nationals in Karachi and other parts of Sindh province are in prisons, and at least 1100 people without legal documents have been forcefully deported.
The incarcerated Afghans are mistreated by prisoners, and their cases are not properly proceeded by the judges, according to sources.
The Guardian reports that scores of Afghan detainees shackled, and were put in tiny cells as they were waiting to hear about the court’s decision.
Meanwhile, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has condemned the inhuman treatment of Afghan citizens and has asked the relevant agencies to accelerate the proceedings of the cases.
Pakistan’s Human Rights Commission in an announcement has said, “the government should take responsibility for every imprisoned Afghan woman and child, and needs to ensure that they have access to legal counsel.
Since the Afghan Taliban seized power in August 2021, more than 250,000 Afghan migrants have entered Pakistan, some legally, others without valid passports and visas, according to The Guardian reports.
Since last summer, Pakistan’s Interior Ministry has taken serious steps to arrest undocumented Afghan nationals and forcefully deport them to Afghanistan. It is believed that more than 600 Afghan refugees have been extradited in three days in January alone, and detentions have increased throughout Pakistan.
Several sources have reported that Afghan citizens are mistreated by security officials in Pakistan because of the alleged accusations by senior authorities that the Afghan Taliban have provided safe havens for Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Afghanistan.
