Human rights watch slammed Pakistan for forced deportation of Afghan refugees

By Anjali Sharma

NEW YORK – Human Rights Watch a US based advocacy group on Thursday urged Pakistan to immediately end the forced return and deportation of Afghan refugees.

Pakistan has set a March 31 deadline for the deportation of all Afghan refugees, HRW stated in its press release.

Pakistani authorities have been accused of intensifying abusive tactics and other pressure on Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan, the rights group said.

It noted that several reports revealed that Afghan refugees are facing massive harassment and abuse in Pakistan.

Afghan refugees stated that despite holding valid legal documents, they are facing the threat of illegal detention, deportation, and discrimination when asked various human rights organizations to take action on their behalf.

The deportation would pose serious risks to the refugees of persecution and economic hardship under Afghan Taliban rule, HRW said.

Elaine Pearson, Asia Director at the Human Rights Watch said “Pakistani officials should immediately stop coercing Afghans to return home and give those facing expulsion the opportunity to seek protection”.

According to the rights watchdog, Pakistani police have raided houses, beaten and arbitrarily detained people, confiscating their refugee documents, including residence permits. They have also demanded bribes to allow Afghans to remain in Pakistan.

UN has reported that most Afghans who have returned to Afghanistan have cited fear of detention by Pakistani authorities as the reason they left.

Masood Rahmati, an Afghan journalist, said that even Afghans who are registered with the UNHCR or who had valid residence cards were not safe in Pakistan.

“We had PoR cards. But the police cut our cards and sent us to Afghanistan,” an Afghan refugee stated.

Afghan refugees told HRW that Pakistani police raided their houses or neighborhoods both during the day and at night and took them or relatives to police stations to extort money.

Afghan woman living in Islamabad said the house raids in her area began at 4 am “as if they were looking for criminals. It’s a very traumatizing experience”.

“They brought trucks and arrested people. If you don’t open the door, they will enter through the windows. They don’t care about children or older people. I know of people with valid visas who had to pay between Rs 20,000 and 100,000 Pakistani rupees (US$70 to $400) not to be arrested,” HRW quoted Zahra, an Afghan refugee who has lived in Pakistan since 2023, as stated.

According to Human rights Watch a previous wave of deportations and expulsions from September 2023 through January 2024, drove over 800,000 Afghans many born in Pakistan or living there for decades to Afghanistan.

Pakistani authorities have renewed pressure to expel Afghans since November 2024.

Over 70 per cent of those returning have been women and children, including girls of secondary school age and women who will no longer have access to education.

Afghan refugees have had to abandon property and savings in Pakistan, and have few livelihood opportunities or little land in Afghanistan, the HRW stated.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry announced that Afghans could not stay in Islamabad after December 31.

The police had detained over 800 Afghans in Islamabad by the end of December.

Pakistani authorities have called for the expulsion of all Afghan refugees, the advocacy group stated.