Amnesty International (AI) has renewed its call for Pakistan to abide by its obligations under international law and stop the arbitrary detention and harassment of Afghan refugees.
AI’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia Babu Ram Pant said: “The police night raids, harassment and arbitrary detention of hundreds of Afghan refugees, including women and children, are part of a larger discriminatory policy against Afghans living in the country.”
He added the Pakistani government had repeatedly and arbitrarily enacted policies increasing the precarity of Afghan refugees and the newest policy measure endangered an already at-risk population.
He pointed out: “The Pakistani authorities’ actions are sweeping and discretionary in nature and have resulted in the harassment and detention of refugees even when in possession of valid documents and visas.”
All refugees and asylum seekers, regardless of documentation status, had the right to due process and protection against forced return under international human rights law, Pant explained.
Earlier, Pakistan had announced that no Afghan nationals would be allowed to stay in Islamabad without a no-objection certificate (NOC) after December 31, 2024.
The Joint Action Committee for Refugees says over 800 Afghans have been detained in Islamabad since January 1, 2025.
Pakistani security agencies have reportedly been conducting house-to-house searches in various parts of Islamabad over the past six days.
On Monday, the Afghan embassy expressed concern over the detention of about 800 Afghan nationals in Islamabad and called for urgently addressing the issue.
kk/mud
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