In a new report, Amnesty International has highlighted how Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been subjected to waves of arbitrary detentions, arrests, and the threat of deportation.
On World Refugee Day (June 20), the rights watchdog called on the Pakistani government to urgently stop arbitrary arrests and harassment of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers.
Amnesty stressed that these individuals are already fearful of their lives as many are fleeing persecution by the Taliban following the group’s takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 and they are facing more problems in Pakistan.
“It is deeply concerning that the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan is not receiving due international attention. Being unable to return home or stay permanently in Pakistan, they are caught in an impossible situation from which there is no escape. Their ambiguous legal status and arduous processes for asylum or third country relocation have made them even more vulnerable,” said Dinushika Dissanayake, Amnesty International’s Deputy Regional Director for South Asia.
The report highlighted how there have been considerable delays in the registration process and many with expired visas as most do not hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, the identity document entitling Afghan refugees to remain regularly in Pakistan.
Through interviews with Afghan refugees in Pakistan, media monitoring and review of official documents, Amnesty emphasised that Afghan refugees have also raised serious concerns about harassment by Pakistani police and officials.
The rights organisation stated that the threats and harassment the Afghan refugees suffer from have been amplified amid delays of the third-country relocation processes and expired visas as it makes them legally vulnerable.
It reported police harassment of Afghan refugees and extortion of money from them from across Pakistan, including in Sindh, Karachi, Peshawar, Chaman, and Quetta, among others.
The report also added that Afghans without documents to prove their legal status are unable to secure formal employment and often end up working in low-wage jobs where they are vulnerable to exploitation.
Without a PoR card or visa, it is also difficult to get SIM cards or set up bank accounts, which prevents Afghans from receiving money from their relatives, the report stated.
Despite contacting human rights groups in Pakistan, recently detained Afghan refugees said they were provided no legal protections while in police custody. In addition, Afghans often struggle to access healthcare and education for their children, as some schools refuse to enroll them due to ambiguities surrounding their legal status. For women and girls, it is especially difficult to enroll in schools in Pakistan due to gender discrimination.
Amnesty International urged the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to expedite registration and reviews of applications from Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan.
It also called on third countries offering relocation to Afghans abroad to expedite the issuance of visas.
After the fall of Kabul to the Taliban on August 15, 2021, waves of Afghan refugees traveled to Pakistan and Iran to travel from these two countries to one of the Western countries using resettlement programs and humanitarian visas.
