Nearly 300 Afghan Refugees Detained In Karachi, Says Lawyer in Pakistan

Moniza Kakar, a lawyer defending Afghan prisoners in Pakistan, has said that around 300 Afghan refugees have been detained in Karachi city.

On Wednesday, Kakar said that although many of these immigrants have valid documentation, they are still in limbo.

According to Kakar, these refugees have been detained since September 9. She added that on Wednesday, about 100 of these immigrants were presented to the court.

Many of these people have considered Pakistan as "home" since 1990, Kakar added.

She stressed that the rights of refugees and legal processes should be supported.

This lawyer mentioned the story of Mohammad, an Afghan immigrant in Pakistan, who has a valid residence card and yet the Pakistani police arrested him as an "illegal" immigrant and confiscated his card.

Kakar quoted Kala Khan, another Afghan immigrant in Pakistan, who wrote that he has been living in Karachi since the past thirty years, but Karachi police demanded bribe, and when the immigrant refused to pay the amount, they confiscated his card and arrested him.

In recent months, Pakistani police has increased detention of Afghan immigrants.

After the Taliban’s takeover of power in Afghanistan, a significant number of citizens immigrated to Pakistan.

Human rights organisations have previously expressed concern about the detention and situation of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan.