Taliban urges Pakistan to 'reconsider' deportation of over one million Afghan migrants

In this file photo, Afghan people walk inside a fenced corridor as they enter Pakistan at the Pakistan-Afghanistan border-crossing point in Chaman. AFP/File

Taliban has urged Pakistan to review its plans to expel Afghan immigrants after Pakistan launched a mass deportation of "illegal immigrants". The Pakistan government issued an order of mass deportation of over one million illegal Afghan immigrants from the country.

Following Islamabad's decision, the Pakistani police has started detaining Afghan immigrants in several cities of Pakistan. Pakistan has warned all illegal Afghan immigrants in Pakistan, including 1.73 million individuals to leave the country or face deportation. Pakistan is home to more than 1.7 million people who have fled violence in neighboring Afghanistan.

As of the end of 2022, Pakistan hosted more than 1.3 million registered Afghan refugees and 427,000 people in "refugee-like situations" from Afghanistan, according to the United Nations' refugee agency.

Meanwhile, the Taliban administration vehemently opposed Islamabad's decision, deeming it unacceptable, and has urged a reconsideration of the matter, reported Khaama Press.

The spokesperson of the Taliban administration, Zabihullah Mujahid called Pakistan's decision unacceptable and demanded the Pakistani authorities to reconsider. "As long as Afghan immigrants voluntarily and gradually leave Pakistan, the Pakistani government should tolerate it," he said.

Additionally, the Interior minister of the Pakistan interim government said on Wednesday that Afghans carried out 44 suicide attacks in Pakistan.

However, Mujahid rejected those statements and said that Afghan citizens are not responsible for the security problems in Pakistan.

Reportedly earlier this week, the Pakistani police detained 800 Afghan immigrants in various suburbs of Islamabad, of which 400 were released after further investigation of their documents, according to Khaama Press.

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Moreover, Pakistan police has detained over a thousand Afghan migrants in the last two weeks.

Moreover, video clips have gone viral on social media, showing that the Pakistan police have detained women and children in detention centres.

The Afghan embassy emphasized that despite repeated promises from Pakistani authorities, the "arrest, harassment, and mistreatment" of Afghan refugees and migrants by Pakistani police continues.

According to the Afghan embassy's statement, Pakistani police are conducting raids on Afghan migrants' homes day and night.

Regarding the death of migrants, the embassy stated, "Unfortunately, in addition to harassment and mistreatment, unjustifiable killings have also occurred".

The Afghan embassy has also called on the Pakistani government to put an end to the harassment and mistreatment of Afghan refugees to avoid negative repercussions on Afghanistan-Pakistan relations.

Earlier, Amnesty International's Asia division has also expressed concern about the situation of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan, reported Khaama Press. (With inputs from ANI)