Afghanistan Peace CampaignThe report also said that most Afghan refugees have been arrested in Balochistan province.
The International Organization of Migration (IOM) and United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have published a joint report saying more than 30,000 undocumented refugees have been detained in Pakistan in 2023.
The report also said that most Afghan refugees have been arrested in Balochistan province.
“At first, they used the excuse of detention of immigrants who did not have legal documents, but alongside these individuals, Afghans who had legal documents and had their POR cards with them for living there were also detained,” said Abdul Mutalib Haqani, the spokesman of the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation.
“The effort of the Islamic Emirate’s consulate has always been to understand the situation of Afghans and to reduce their suffering and harassment, and to free them from imprisonment,” said Abdul Jabar Takhari, the consul of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi.
The joint report of IOM and UNHCR stated that besides the detention and deportation, Afghan refugees have been extorted and harassed.
“In Karachi, even those who have documents are arrested and kept in prison for a while, and then they are deported,” Malak Awal Khan, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.
“Over the past four decades, there has been no equivalent to the oppression and hardship experienced by Afghan immigrants in 2023,” said Reza Hashimi, Afghan Refugees’ representative in Pakistan.
IOM and UNHCR also said that 483,000 Afghans have been deported to Afghanistan so far.