The detention and forced deportation of Afghan migrants continues across various cities in Pakistan. Afghan migrants say they are increasingly concerned about the fate of their belongings in the country.
Atiqullah Mansoor, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “The arrests and deportations of Afghan migrants have intensified across Pakistan since the March 31 deadline expired. Among the migrants are those who cannot even afford the fare to return to Afghanistan. Their assets and investments in Pakistan are at serious risk.”
Other Afghan migrants have described the current situation in Pakistan as alarming, noting that even women and children are being detained by Pakistani security forces.
Shabana Mansoor, another Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “The government and people of Pakistan no longer want Afghan migrants to stay, not even for a day—whether they hold ACC or PoR cards. Once again, I urge my fellow Afghan brothers and sisters to return home with dignity.”
Meanwhile, the acting minister of public health also said that Afghan migrants in Pakistan and Iran face harassment and confiscation of their belongings.
Noor Jalal Jalali, acting minister of public health, said: “Women are loaded onto vehicles while their belongings are thrown aside. One could say this resembles the oppression committed by the Zionist regime in Gaza. A man who has built a home through hard labor is told he can’t take anything with him and is expelled with only the clothes on his back, humiliated and disgraced.”
This comes as Pakistani media recently reported the beginning of the deportation of more than 16,000 Afghan migrants from the country.