Islamabad, March 27 (IANS) Pakistan has resumed deportation of undocumented Afghan refugees through the Torkham border after the border was reopened for one-way pedestrian movement after its month-long closure due to clashes between Kabul and Islamabad, local media reported on Friday. In recent weeks, tensions have escalated between Afghanistan and Pakistan due to airstrikes, artillery fire, and accusations from both sides.Officials at a temporary transit point set up near the Hamza Baba mausole…
Latest Afghan refugees News & Updates
Islamabad, March 24 (IANS) Crackdown on undocumented Afghan refugees in Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is expected to intensify after Eid holidays, as per reliable sources, local media reported on Tuesday. The authorities had imposed a temporary halt on arrests during the Eid period to allow families to observe the festival peacefully. As the Eid celebrations concluded, law enforcement personnel are poised to resume strict actions, targeting Afghan refugees who do not have valid documents, Pakist…
Paris, March 7 (IANS) A leading international press freedom organisation expressed grave concern over a new wave of repression targeting Afghan refugees, including exiled journalists across Pakistan.Reporters Without Borders (RSF) warned that the escalating clashes between Pakistan and Afghanistan, which Islamabad declared an “open war” on February 27, are being used as a pretext for the crackdown.According to the organisation, the “Afghan journalists who have taken refuge in Pakistan are being …
Islamabad, March 2 (IANS) A local court in Pakistan has sent hundreds of Afghan nationals to jail who were detained during the crackdown launched on foreigners residing illegally in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, local media reported on Monday. The Afghan refugees, who were sent to jail on judicial remand on Sunday, were arrested on Saturday when the law enforcement personnel conducted the crackdown, Pakistan’s leading daily Dawn reported. The judicial magistrate, Mohammad Anwar Khan, directed…
Kabul, Feb 28 (IANS) Pakistani police have ramped up the arrest of Afghan refugees following escalating border clashes with Taliban forces, according to media reports.The plight of Afghan nationals in Pakistan has been described as “critical”, with widespread detentions of both men and women, particularly in Islamabad.Citing sources, Afghanistan’s leading news agency, Khaama Press, reported that police in recent days arrested Afghan nationals possessing valid visas and legal residency documents….
Islamabad, Feb 12 (IANS) Police has intensified its crackdown on undocumented foreigners in Pakistan, with 5,439 illegal Afghan nationals detained in a holding centre in Rawalpindi, local media reported on Thursday. Furthermore, 19 individuals have been reported missing from the centre since the government’s deadline of March 31 last year to leave Pakistan voluntarily expired. The police has stepped up drives against undocumented immigrants in the federal capital territory with action aimed to a…
Islamabad, Feb 10 (IANS) Pakistan has planned to deport nearly 20,000 Afghan refugees who have been waiting for resettlement in the United States, local media reported on Tuesday. Pakistan’s federal government will issue orders for senior provincial authorities and police in Islamabad, Balochistan, Punjab, Sindh, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and Pakistan-occupied Gilgit-Baltistan (PoGB) to facilitate the deportation of Afghan refugees, Afghanistan’s leading Khaama Press agency h…
Kabul, Feb 2 (IANS) As many as five Afghan journalists were detained by the Pakistani police over the past two weeks as per the details released by the Afghanistan Media Support Organisation (AMSO), local media reported on Monday. According to AMSO, journalist Samim Forough Faizi and cameraman Ataullah Shirzad were among those detained while others have requested anonymity due to security risks, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported. The organisation stated that the journalists…
Kabul, Jan 18 (IANS) Taliban has said that the problems faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan are rising and stressed that Pakistani government should respect refugee rights and stop arresting and harassing Afghan migrants, local media reported on Sunday. “Unfortunately, problems faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan are increasing, with arrests, harassment, and mistreatment by Pakistani officials on the rise, leaving refugees in serious difficulty,” Pajhwok Afghan News quoted Taliban deputy spoke…
Washington, Jan 17 (IANS) Senior US lawmakers have warned that lapses in the security screening of Afghan evacuees following the 2021 withdrawal from Kabul could leave the United States vulnerable to further attacks.Participating in a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on border security and immigration, Republican lawmakers accused the Biden administration of misusing humanitarian parole to allow large numbers of Afghan nationals into the United States without proper background checks.Top Re…