Amnesty International Urges Pakistan to Immediately Release Afghan Refugees

Amnesty International released a statement on Friday urging the immediate release of Afghan refugees detained by Pakistani authorities, Afghanistan International reported.

Recently, Pakistani police have apprehended hundreds of Afghan refugees in Rawalpindi and Islamabad, with several being deported.

On January 17, Amnesty International called on the Pakistani government to revoke its new policy that requires additional documentation, such as a No Objection Certificate (NOC), for Afghan refugees wishing to remain in Islamabad. The organization highlighted that this new directive places vulnerable Afghan groups in a precarious situation.

For the past two weeks, police have been searching neighborhoods in Islamabad and Rawalpindi for Afghan migrants, arresting not only undocumented individuals but, in some instances, even those with valid visas. Among those detained are women and children. According to data from the Taliban embassy in Islamabad, approximately 800 Afghan refugees were arrested by Islamabad police in just the first week.