Kabul, May 6 (IANS) Afghanistan’s High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Problems has urged international organisations and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to hold talks with Pakistan so that Afghan nationals do not face difficulties. It also urged to ensure that the refugees do not face harassment, enabling their swift return. The commission stressed that issues of Afghan refugees should be addressed as a matter of urgency. It stated that Afghan refugees entering Afg…
Latest Afghan refugees News & Updates
Geneva, May 2 (IANS) The United Nations Committee against Torture (CAT) expressed grave concerns over Pakistan’s mass deportation of Afghan refugees, including children, following the adoption of the 2023 Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan, citing the absence of individual assessment of protection needs and risks of refoulement. In its recent findings on Pakistan’s implementation of the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment, the Committee rai…
New York, April 22 (IANS) US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that the Pakistani authorities have increased raids, arbitrary detentions and forced deportation of Afghan refugees after renewed border clashes with Afghanistan. HRW noted that thousands of vulnerable Afghan refugees, including children, have been face serious problems in accessing healthcare, education and other essential services due to police operations. It also highlighted that Pakistan’s forced deportation …
London, April 18 (IANS) Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP) reflects state-led refoulement on an industrial scale, prioritising political expediency over human lives, displacing more than two million Afghan refugees, shattering communities, violating international norms, and deepening Afghanistan’s humanitarian crisis, a report highlighted on Saturday. “Pakistan’s Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP), launched in October 2023, has evolved into one of the world’s…
Kabul, April 15 (IANS) Police in Pakistan’s Quetta has arrested over 20 landlords and shop owners for renting properties to undocumented Afghan migrants, local media reported on Wednesday. The crackdown launched on Tuesday targetted those who “violated rental laws”, with cases lodged against those arrested under existing legal provisions governing housing and foreign residency, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported.Hundreds of undocumented Afghans were identified and arrested d…
Brussels, April 4 (IANS) Pakistan has repeatedly failed to demonstrate sustained, structural improvement in the core human rights situation, a key condition under the European Union’s Generalised Scheme of Preferences Plus (GSP+) framework, despite more than a decade of preferential access, a report said on Saturday. According to the ‘European Times’ report, given the current trajectory, evidence suggests a strong case for suspending Pakistan’s GSP+ status until it meets the obligations in a…
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…
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…