UN Silent Spectator Of Inhumane Treatment Of Afghan Migrants By Police, Says Former Pak MP

Bushra Gohar, former member of Pakistan's parliament, has said that the country's police are treating Afghan migrants "inhumanely" on the orders of the interior minister and detaining them.

Gohar stressed that UNHCR is a "silent spectator" in the face of these actions. She urged the organisation to defend the rights of vulnerable Afghans, especially women and children.

On Monday, January 6, Bushra Gohar, a human rights activist and former member of Pakistan's parliament, reacted to the detention of Afghan refugees in Islamabad by publishing notes on the social media platform X.

The arrests appear to have been ordered by Pakistani Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi and should be stopped immediately, she said.

Gohar stressed that Afghan migrant women, children and the elderly should be released from detention centers immediately.

The former member of Pakistan's parliament referred to the United Nations as a "silent spectator" and called on the organisation to defend the rights of vulnerable Afghans, especially women and girls.

"Please explain why this inhumane repression against Afghan families living in Islamabad has begun. Women, children and the elderly are rounded up by police trucks. Many of them have valid documents or are in the process of receiving documents."

Bushra Gohar also stressed that after the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, families have been forced to flee the country.

Bushra Gohar is a Pakistani politician and one of the senior leaders of the National Democratic Movement. She was a member of the National Assembly of Pakistan from 2008 to 2013.

Pakistani police have recently resumed house-to-house searches to detain and deport Afghan refugees. Pakistan's move has been met with strong reactions from human rights organisations.