Afghans in Pakistan Face Restrictions, Arrests

Following the concerns about the situation and deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan, a member of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan said that many Afghan refugees want to work in Pakistan and settle here, but Islamabad has resorted to the policy of expelling Afghan refugees from this country.

Some Afghan migrants in Pakistan also complain about increasing restrictions and arrests of Afghans in the country.

Mohammad Khan Mohammadzai, an immigrant rights activist, told TOLOnews: “The policy of deporting Afghan immigrants is very worrying because serious harm will be done to these immigrants.”

Meanwhile, a number of other Afghan immigrants in Pakistan also complain about increasing economic challenges, and non-extension of visas.

They ask the government of Pakistan and other international organizations not to forcibly deport them.

Tahir, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan, said: “I request that the government of Pakistan cooperate with the High Commissioners of Refugees to find a basic solution or a solution that is useful for both the government of Pakistan and the refugees.”

Haji Nazar, another Afghan immigrant, says: “Another problem is the problem of visa extension. Unfortunately, the visa extension process is long on the one hand, and on the other hand, the cost is high, so it is not possible for the immigrants to pay this fee and extend the stay.”

Zabihullah Mujahid, spokesperson of the Islamic Emirate, said that on the sidelines of the third Doha meeting on Afghanistan, he talked about the improvement of relations between the two countries and the issue of migrants with Pakistan’s special representative for Afghanistan and asked Pakistan to not forcibly expel Afghan migrants from this country.

Mujahid said in this regard: “We talked about the migrants, and we also spoke about the relations between the two countries, we conveyed that the immigrants should not face forced deportation and should be allowed to return to their country through encouragement and that Afghanistan has prepared to accept its migrants.”

Previously, Pakistan’s permanent representative to the United Nations asked this organization to financially support the process of expelling 1.5 million Afghan refugees from this country.

International media also reported that Pakistan is considering starting the second phase of deporting Afghan migrants.