Rising Detentions of Afghan Migrants in Pakistan Amid Political Tensions
A number of Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan say that over the past ten days, there has been a significant increase in their arrests by the country’s security forces. According to these migrants, local prisons in some areas, especially in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, have become crowded with detained Afghans, and pressure on their families has also intensified.
The migrant residents add that these measures have escalated despite many of them having lived in Pakistan for years and holding residency documents. They speak of harsh treatment and fears of forced deportation, a situation that has thrown the future of thousands of families into uncertainty.
Previously, the Taliban administration’s foreign minister had criticized what he called Pakistan’s “mistreatment” of Afghan migrants. Nonetheless, the surge in detentions indicates that ongoing political tensions between the two sides continue to cast a shadow over the migrants’ fate. The Taliban administration has so far failed to provide a practical and effective solution to reduce pressures and secure the rights of Afghan citizens in Pakistan.
Migrant rights activists describe the continuation of this trend as worrying. Abdul Razaq Adil, a migrant affairs activist, has called on the international community and organizations such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to take action and intensify pressure to prevent the violation of migrants’ rights and keep them away from political disputes.
Pakistan has hosted millions of Afghan migrants over past decades; however, in recent months and amid rising political tensions, concerns about the security, residency, and future of these migrants have once again come to the forefront.
