Pakistani police and other agencies continue harassing and detaining Afghan refugees in Islamabad and other major cities for failing to provide legal stay permits and valid visas, sources said.
According to reliable sources, through special search operations, police has been arresting Afghan refugees in Islamabad, Rawalpindi and other parts of the country.
Recently, the Pakistanis government has taken extra measures to incarcerate and extradite those foreign nationals including Afghan migrants who are illegally staying in the country.
On June 7, police arrested at least 250 Afghan nationals from Islamabad and Rawalpindi due to overstaying and failing to provide valid visas, and imprisoned them accordingly.
Following the arrest, the Embassy of Afghanistan in Islamabad urged the Pakistani government to stop arresting Afghan refugees “as it can adversely impact bilateral relations between the two countries, reported TOLOnews.
On Thursday, July 8, Afghanistan Embassy in Islamabad on Twitter said that the POR, ACC, and passport holders were among the Afghan citizens detained by the CTD-ISB and other Pakistani agencies.
Meanwhile, the Pakistani authorities assured the leadership of the Afghan embassy of cooperation and added that they only arrest those who do not have legal documents and are all illegally residing in the host country.
The Human Right Commission of Pakistan and refugee advocacy organizations have repeatedly called on the Pakistani government over cracking down on Afghan refugees and forcefully deporting them to Afghanistan. furthermore, the commission stressed that seeking asylum is not a crime, and the Pakistani police should respect human rights, dignity and values.
