In recent days, Afghan refugees in Pakistan have once again complained about arrests and house-to-house searches by Pakistani police.
According to them, Pakistani police are even arresting and deporting refugees who possess legal documents.
“It has been four or five days that Pakistani police, with all their resources, have launched a crackdown on Afghan refugees and arrested many of them,” said Mirwais Khawrin, an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.
“In the new year, arrests by Pakistani police have started, and these arrests have intensified in Islamabad,” said Abdullah Mohammadi, another Afghan refugee in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, a former member of Pakistan’s National Assembly also reacted to the increase in arrests of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, calling such treatment by Pakistan oppressive and a violation of human rights.
Mohsin Dawar, a former member of Pakistan’s National Assembly, said: “This crackdown is an egregious violation of basic human rights and humanity, exposing deep-rooted xenophobia & hatred against Afghans.”
Meanwhile, the head of Iran’s Immigration Affairs Center stated that over the past three years, three million refugees have been deported from Iran.
Nader Yar-Ahmadi, an official of Iran’s National Organization for Migration, said: “The harsh conditions in Afghanistan have led these individuals to return to the country, and with the firm follow-up of law enforcement, we will witness the deportation of these individuals.”
“Pakistan’s actions contradict international norms. Regardless of the reasons a refugee seeks asylum in a country, they should be treated according to legal standards,” said Mohammad Khan Mohammadi, an activist for refugee rights.
In the past three years, alongside the mistreatment of Afghan refugees by neighboring countries, the pace of deportations, especially from Iran and Pakistan, has accelerated.
So far, more than 650,000 refugees have been deported from Pakistan and three million from Iran.