Kabul, Dec 8 (IANS) Over 2,000 Afghan refugees were forcibly repatriated from Iran and Pakistan in a single day, a Taliban official said on Monday.
Sharing a report from the High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues on X, Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat stated that 623 families, comprising 2,349 people, returned to Afghanistan on Sunday, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
According to the report, Afghan refugees entered Afghanistan through the Torkham crossing in Nangarhar, Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, Bahramcha in Helmand, and the Islam Qala crossing in Herat.
He further said that 327 returning families were taken to their respective home areas, while 512 families were provided humanitarian assistance. A total of 448 SIM cards were given to Afghan refugees.
Fitrat stated that 3,134 Afghan refugees were forcibly repatriated from Iran and Pakistan on Saturday.
Earlier in November, several Afghan refugees in Pakistan said that they had been overwhelmed by continuous pressure from the country’s police, which, apart from conducting searches, was arresting people and exploiting their vulnerable situation as a source of income.
A report in the Afghan newspaper ‘8 AM Media’, also known as ‘Hasht-e-Subh Daily’, highlighted that Afghan refugees in Pakistan do not have basic human rights and live in constant fear and anxiety.
Human rights groups and refugee support groups have remained silent regarding the uncertainty and the government’s failure to fulfil its commitment to human rights and the protection of refugees.
Over the past few months, as tensions between the Taliban and Pakistan continue, Islamabad has increased its pressure on Afghan refugees, with the Pakistani forces conducting widespread harassment of migrants each day in various areas, including Islamabad.
Apart from official operations involving the arrest of Afghan refugees without visas, people in plain clothes extort money from migrants in residential areas. Afghan people have said that they live in inhumane conditions filled with fear and anxiety, and their refugee rights are not respected.
“The situation is extremely distressing. I wish the official operations team would simply arrest and take people away. This method is not right; the police know no one will report them, so they come individually for searches. Several men in plain clothes lie in wait in the neighbourhood, grab someone, and take them away. It is unclear whether they are police, thieves, or cooperating with the police. Now, even if an ordinary person commits theft or kidnapping under the name of the police, people assume he is a police officer,” the report quoted an Afghan national as saying.
“These individuals detain migrants in their personal vehicles; some are released on the spot after paying money, while others are taken to police posts. They are probably police themselves or collaborating with the police. The level of theft and robbery is extremely high, and no institution hears the people’s voices. The situation is deeply painful; a country that has no defender and whose citizens have no protection or credibility anywhere in the world,” the refugee added.
Junaid, another refugee, recalled how he was stopped by a man in plain clothes a few nights back when he was going to buy something.
Recalling the incident, Junaid said, “He introduced himself as a police officer and asked for my visa. I asked: Who are you? He said he was police. I asked him to show his card. He treated me violently and said that if I talked too much, I would be arrested. I tried to resist, but then two other men arrived and told me to get into the car. I had to pay 15,000 rupees for my release. Now we do not know who the police are. It is clear they have realised that migrants have no one behind them and are using this situation to fill their pockets.”
–IANS
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