'Unfair and provoking': Afghan ministry condemns ill-treatment of refugees in Pakistan

The political instability and the human rights crisis in Afghanistan since the advent of the new Taliban regime have become one of the main reasons for many citizens to take refuge in neighbouring countries. However, their treatment in those countries has become a matter of concern. On Saturday, the Taliban administration condemned the mistreatment of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Citing local media, the ANI reported that the Afghan Ministry of Foreign affairs urged the Islamabad administration to remain respectful of the rights of refugees.

On Friday, Afghanistan’s Acting Foreign Minister, Amir Khan Muttaqi termed the recent ill-treatment that the Afghan Refugees are facing in Pakistan as “unfair, provoking and harmful for cordial ties of both the countries.” Tolo News quoted a Taliban official saying, “The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirates condemns the disturbing of our citizens and calls on the Pakistani government to avoid the repeat of such actions.”

According to ANI, the Afghanistan Embassy in Pakistan claimed that more than 1,250 Afghan refugees had been detained within the past 40 days by Pakistani police. Recently, a video went viral showing several Afghan refugees detained and tied in rope in Karachi. The refugees in the video claimed that the Pakistani police have taken their cell phones and money. Citing a UNHCR estimation, Tolo News reported that around 13 million Afghans live in Pakistan. 

Former Afghanistan President lashed out at Pakistan for mistreating Afghan Refugees

On Tuesday, ANI reported that former President Hamid Karzai slammed the Pakistani administration for ‘mistreating’ the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. He also urged the Pakistani government to treat the refugees as per international laws and human rights values. On Monday, the former Afghan President put out a tweet, expressing, “his regret and concern about the government’s (Pakistan Government)  treatment of immigrants.”

He then went on to urge Human Rights organisations “to work hard to provide better living conditions for immigrants”. The problem becomes worse since the Afghan immigrants in Pakistan do not hold any legal status as the UNHCR has not yet initiated the process of registering the immigrants. Hence, the fate of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan becomes a matter of great concern.