Afghan refugees continue to undergo suffering, mistreatment in Pakistan

KABUL : The Afghan refugees who migrated to Pakistan after the Taliban took over fearing persecution are undergoing continuous suffering and an extremely "inhuman and hateful" mistreatment, the Khaama Press reported.

Ever since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan is one of the primary destinations where Afghan refugees have migrated in search of better conditions.

New waves of Afghan refugees moved to Iran and Pakistan due to several reasons including fear of death threats and persecution by Afghanistan's de facto regime.

However, in Pakistan, the migrants have continued to suffer numerous challenges including arbitrary detentions, harassment, and imprisonment by Pakistani police, because of being unable to provide valid residential permits and visas.

Notably, Pakistani police and other relevant agencies have continued to detain and incarcerate Afghan refugees in different parts of the country, including the capital city of Islamabad, despite having refugees having United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugee's (UNHCR) certificate, the Khaama Press reported.

Maniza Kakar, an attorney of Afghan prisoners in Karachi earlier claimed that Pakistani police tore the residential documents of some Afghan nationals while they were arrested.

The alleged mistreatment of Afghan refugees by the Pakistani government has been labelled "inhuman and hateful", leading to widespread criticism not just in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but beyond.

"In less than two years, I have been detained three times by the police - harassed, humiliated and bitten due to not having a valid residential permit. Life has become extremely difficult for me in Pakistan. Every time, I come across police, I keep running from one ally to another to avoid possible imprisonment and forceful deportation to Afghanistan," the Khaama Press quoted an Afghan refugee.

Another Afghan refugee who has freshly moved to France said to Khaama Press that, "Pakistan does not offer you anything other than countless sufferings. He asked other immigrants to follow up on their immigration cases, otherwise, they will continuously face mistreatment, harassment and humiliation".

Most Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan, are undergoing an extremely lengthy process, causing ambiguity and hopelessness.

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.