Amnesty International calls on Pakistan to stop harassment of Afghan refugees
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Global human rights organization Amnesty International has urged Pakistan to stop harassing and arbitrarily arresting Afghan refugees.
Since the Taliban took power in Afghanistan in 2021, many Afghans have fled to Pakistan.
Pakistan initially allowed Afghans to move freely, but has since arrested them and threatened them with deportation.
One Afghan refugee told Amnesty International that Pakistani police raided his home and detained him and 20 other Afghans, including those with valid visas.
Most of those detained had worked in the Ministry of Interior in Kabul before the Taliban took power.
Amnesty International has called on Pakistan, U.N. High Commission for Refugees, and other countries to speed up the registration and issuance of visas for Afghan refugees.
The unclear legal status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the lengthy process for granting asylum or resettlement to a third country have made them even more vulnerable.
Pakistani authorities often rely on the Aliens Act to detain Afghans with valid documents.
Dinushika Dissanayake of Amnesty International expressed concern that the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is not receiving the international attention it deserves.
While countries such as the U.S., Germany, and Canada have offered resettlement programs to Afghans, visas cannot be issued in Afghanistan because there is no diplomatic representation in the country.