Renewed Arrests & Harassment Of Afghan Refugees In Pakistan Must Stop, Says Amnesty
Amnesty International has said that Pakistan has arbitrarily detained and harassed hundreds of Afghan refugees, including women and children, in Islamabad in recent days.
Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said that the arbitrary and night-time arrests of Afghan migrants by Islamabad police were part of Pakistan's "larger discriminatory policy" against Afghans inside the country.
Pant also said that making the No Objection Certificate (NOC) mandatory for Afghan refugees in Islamabad would impose heavy obligations on them along with the existing documents.
According to Amnesty International, Pakistan has repeatedly and "arbitrarily" implemented policies that have exacerbated the fragility of Afghan refugees and caused thousands of people to return to Afghanistan.
Amnesty International has confirmed that Pakistan has taken steps to detain asylum seekers with valid residency documents and visas.
According to the organisation, the actions of Pakistani authorities have put Afghan refugees at greater risk.
The organisation stressed that asylum seekers have the right to a fair trial and protection against forcible return under international law, regardless of what documents they have.
Amnesty International called on Pakistan to abide by its obligations under international law and take immediate action to secure the release of detained migrants.
The statement quoted the Joint Action Committee for Refugees as saying that Pakistan has detained more than 800 Afghan refugees in Islamabad since January 1.
In the past week or so, Afghans in various parts of Islamabad have reported that police are searching and detaining migrants "house by house".
The migrants have sent several images to Afghanistan International showing the presence of police forces around the Afghan refugees' residences in Islamabad.
In recent months, Pakistan has increased the pressure on Afghan refugees in an unprecedented way.
