Amnesty International urges Pakistan to stop arresting Afghan Refugees

Kabul [Afghanistan], June 20 : Amnesty International said today on World Refugee Day that the government of Pakistan must urgently stop arbitrarily arresting and harassing Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, many of whom are fleeing persecution by the Taliban, Khaama Press reported.

Many Afghans have fled to Pakistan for fear of persecution after the Taliban took over Afghanistan in August 2021. These migrants have been arbitrarily arrested, put in detention, and have suffered threats of deportation.

Causing the delays in the registration procedure, Most Afghan refugees still need to possess Proof of Registration (PoR) cards which is the identity proof document allowing them to reside in Pakistan routinely. Many of them who had ordinary visas while entering Pakistan have also expired, as per Khaama Press.

Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty's Deputy Regional Director for South Asia, said, "It is deeply concerning that the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is not receiving due international attention."

According to Amnesty International, many refugees in Pakistan do not want to go back to Afghanistan. Also, the organization called on the U.N. agency for refugees to "expedite registration and reviews of applications from Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan."

They also emphasize the refugee's request that nations sponsoring relocation programmes should speed up the visa application process, according to Khaama Press.

According to Amnesty, over 3.7 million Afghans who fled Afghanistan for political and economic reasons now reside in Pakistan. Moreover, only 1.4 million people have official registration.

Meanwhile, The Afghanistan Embassy in Islamabad also requested Pakistan to cease detaining Afghans earlier this month after 250 people were held for lack of travel documents by counterterrorism officials and other agencies, as per Khaama Press.