Detained Afghans Without Valid Residence Permits Will Remain in Prison Until Deported

The Pakistani police said that the Afghan refugees detained for lack of residence permit will remain in detention until they are deported. Pakistan's counter-terrorism department detained at least 175 Afghan refugees in a search operation in Islamabad on Sunday.

Islamabad police officials confirmed to Afghanistan International that all 175 Afghans detained in Pakistan have been transferred to a prison in Rawalpindi.

In its earlier statement, Pakistani police did not mention that all these 175 people are Afghans.

According to the police, these people have been accused of violating the law based on Article 14 of Pakistan's Foreign Nationals Registration Act.

Several Afghan refugees informed Afghanistan International on Monday that the Pakistani police entered the houses of Afghan immigrants for inspection and arrested them.

According to a refugee representative, who did not want to be named in the report, some of the detainees are women and children.

In the past two years, when a wave of Afghan refugees entered Pakistan after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan, Islamabad has repeatedly detained these Afghans.

These migrants have said that the UN agencies and human rights groups have not done enough to protect their rights and prevent their persecution.