Pakistani Border Guards Arrest 120 Afghans; Hand Them Over To Taliban

Dawn, a Pakistani newspaper, reported that the country's border forces arrested 120 Afghans on Friday, July 12, and handed them over to the Taliban.

According to the report, they were arrested at the Pakistan-Afghanistan and Pakistan-Iran borders for entering Pakistan illegally.

According to Pakistani officials, the country's security forces launched a joint operation after receiving information about the presence of suspected foreign individuals in the border areas, resulting in the arrest of 120 Afghan men.

In recent months, Pakistan has expelled tens of thousands of Afghans and returned them to Afghanistan.

Filippo Grandi, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), announced the suspension of the plan to return Afghans from Pakistan at the end of his three-day visit to Peshawar and Islamabad. However, the Pakistani Foreign Ministry denied this announcement.

The Pakistani government officially began the first phase of deporting undocumented Afghans last year. According to official statistics, 541,000 Afghan migrants were expelled from Pakistan in the first phase.

According to official Taliban statements, in the second phase of the deportation process, 800,000 undocumented Afghan migrants are to be returned to Afghanistan.