Afghan refugees in Islamabad say Pakistani police have carried out violent raids on hotels housing families accepted under German resettlement programmes, arresting men, women and children and transferring some to detention camps.
Refugees told Afghanistan International that police stormed a hotel in the capital’s F-8 district on Sunday, detaining several families. One image shared from the scene showed a child who had fainted in fear.
They said police have raided multiple hotels in the same area over the past five days. Witnesses described armed officers breaking locks on doors and windows, beating residents and humiliating them. Families, including women and children, were taken into custody.
Those detained are typically moved to Haji Camp, a facility refugees described as lacking adequate food, healthcare and accommodation for women, children and the sick. Refugees also said police prevented them from collecting their belongings before arrest and that some families had already been deported to Afghanistan.
The raids targeted Afghans holding official admission letters for German relocation, many of them former employees of the German development agency GIZ, as well as women’s rights defenders, lawyers, judges and officials from the former Afghan government.
One refugee said families now live in constant fear of police raids. “The police treat refugees with extreme cruelty,” he said. Some families reportedly spend the day in parks or outside guesthouses to avoid arrest, though police have also conducted night-time raids.
German Government Criticised
Refugees criticised Berlin for failing to intervene. They said Afghans with German admission letters and former GIZ staff remain in detention, while the German government has not taken action.
Last month, police detained about 450 Afghans accepted for resettlement in Germany. German mediation prevented the deportation of 245, but more than 200 were expelled to Afghanistan.
The German government later said it was negotiating with Islamabad to return 211 deported Afghans to Pakistan.
Until recently, Afghan refugees were able to renew visas monthly or every few months. Pakistan stopped extensions about three months ago and has since intensified arrests.
German officials have not publicly commented on the escalating detentions and alleged mistreatment of Afghan refugees awaiting resettlement.
