Coinciding with the World Refugee Day on June 20, Amnesty International announced that Pakistan should immediately stop arbitrarily arresting and persecuting Afghan refugees.
Publish dateTuesday 20 June 2023 - 13:18
Story Code : 272065
Amnesty International:
Pakistan should immediately stop arresting and persecuting Afghan immigrants
Afghan Voice Agency (AVA) - Kabul: Today, Tuesday, June 20, is World Refugee Day.
Amnesty International, today (Tuesday, June 20, 2023) in a statement quoted by Dinushika Dissanayak, Deputy Director of the South Asia Department of this organization, wrote that the international community's lack of attention to the situation of Afghans is deeply worrying.
This organization has said in its report that in recent years, Afghans in Pakistan have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and threats of deportation. Due to significant delays in the registration process, most of them do not have registration cards, the document that allows Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan regularly. Many of them entered Pakistan on normal visas, which have now expired.
According to the report, Afghans seeking asylum have to go through a lengthy process when trying to obtain a registration document from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Along with delays in visa renewals by the Pakistani government, delays in obtaining registration documents make it easier for police harassment and extortion of other officials, practices that have been reported across Pakistan, including in Sindh, Karachi, Peshawar, Chaman, and Quetta.
The Amnesty International report also states that many new arrivals must travel to the border and officially leave Pakistan to renew their visas, which can be costly and dangerous. Two of the interviewees said that border guards demanded bribes before allowing them to cross the border despite having valid visas.
Amnesty International asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to speed up the registration and processing of applications for Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan. This organization also asked the government of Pakistan to stop the arbitrary arrest and persecution of Afghan refugees.
It should be mentioned that recently, a number of Afghans living in Pakistan have also complained strongly about what they describe as mistreatment towards them.
Amnesty International, today (Tuesday, June 20, 2023) in a statement quoted by Dinushika Dissanayak, Deputy Director of the South Asia Department of this organization, wrote that the international community's lack of attention to the situation of Afghans is deeply worrying.
This organization has said in its report that in recent years, Afghans in Pakistan have been subjected to arbitrary arrests and threats of deportation. Due to significant delays in the registration process, most of them do not have registration cards, the document that allows Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan regularly. Many of them entered Pakistan on normal visas, which have now expired.
According to the report, Afghans seeking asylum have to go through a lengthy process when trying to obtain a registration document from the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Along with delays in visa renewals by the Pakistani government, delays in obtaining registration documents make it easier for police harassment and extortion of other officials, practices that have been reported across Pakistan, including in Sindh, Karachi, Peshawar, Chaman, and Quetta.
The Amnesty International report also states that many new arrivals must travel to the border and officially leave Pakistan to renew their visas, which can be costly and dangerous. Two of the interviewees said that border guards demanded bribes before allowing them to cross the border despite having valid visas.
Amnesty International asked the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees to speed up the registration and processing of applications for Afghans seeking refugee status in Pakistan. This organization also asked the government of Pakistan to stop the arbitrary arrest and persecution of Afghan refugees.
It should be mentioned that recently, a number of Afghans living in Pakistan have also complained strongly about what they describe as mistreatment towards them.
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