Pakistani police have arrested a group of Afghan migrants in Islamabad’s B-17 township, with women and children reportedly among those detained, according to local community leaders.
Afghan residents told Afghanistan International on Saturday that police conducted a raid in the area and detained multiple individuals. One resident shared a video, stating he had entered Pakistan legally but now lives in fear of arrest due to the suspension of visa renewals. He said he witnessed police vehicles transporting Afghan migrants from the area early that morning.
Maiwand Alami, head of the Afghan Council in Islamabad, confirmed the arrests and said police have been conducting wide-scale operations across the capital for the past 10 days. He reported that Afghan families are being detained from their residences daily and transferred to Haji Camp, a facility used for holding deportees.
While the exact number of arrests remains unclear, the Afghan Council said dozens of Afghan nationals have been detained in recent days, including in B-17 township, and some have already been deported to Afghanistan.
The crackdown has intensified following changes to Pakistan’s visa policy for Afghan citizens. The duration of visas has been reduced from three or six months to just one month, and the renewal process has been suspended for more than three weeks. This shift has left thousands of Afghan migrants in legal limbo and at heightened risk of arrest and deportation.
