Pakistani security forces have shut down several long-standing Afghan refugee camps in Balochistan, including those in Loralai, Gardi Jungle, Saranan, Zhob, Qala-e- Saifullah, Pishin, and Muslim Bagh.
Afghan refugees have been evicted from these camps, and their homes and shops have been demolished.
Bashir Ahmad, a resident of the Gardi Jungle camp, said: “I wasn’t even given time to collect my belongings. They told me that if I didn’t leave my house, they would burn everything.”
Wali Mohammad, a civil aid organizer helping Afghan refugees in Chaman, said: “I call on the Pakistani government to respect human rights while deporting Afghan refugees. The rest of the world provides citizenship documents to Afghans within five years, but in Pakistan, this has not happened even after decades.”
The refugees expelled from these camps in Balochistan say they returned to Afghanistan empty-handed and are in urgent need of shelter and humanitarian assistance.
Officials, while providing some support to the returnees, have expressed concern over the rising number of Afghans being forcibly expelled from Pakistan.
Abdul Latif Hakimi, the registration officer for returnees in Spin Boldak, told TOLOnews: “The situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is deteriorating. Our information shows that Afghans are being forcibly deported from all areas, which has dramatically increased the number of returnees.”
According to officials, in the past five days alone, 13,504 refugees, including hundreds of former prisoners, have returned to Afghanistan through the Spin Boldak crossing.
