Pakistani Police Detained Nearly 800 Afghans, Claims Taliban
The Taliban's Ministry of Refugees announced on Thursday that the Pakistani police have arrested nearly 800 Afghan refugees in recent days on charges of participating in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) political demonstrations.
The Taliban has said that Afghans have not participated in the recent protests, but Pakistani police continue to harass Afghan refugees.
Earlier, Pakistani officials had said that Afghan refugees had participated in the PTI protests. Pakistan's Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi said at a news conference that 19 Afghan refugees had been arrested for attending demonstrations in Islamabad.
The Pakistani interior minister also said that from December this year, all Afghan refugees in Islamabad must have a residence permit in the capital or else they will be deported from Islamabad.
The Taliban's Ministry of Refugees has said that the number of detainees is about "800 people”.
The ministry said in a statement that no Afghans had participated in the demonstrations.
The Taliban has asked the Pakistani government not to use Afghan refugees politically.
