Kabul, Nov 3 (SocialNews.XYZ) Pakistan has increased the deportation of Afghan migrants from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province after the expiration of an October 31 deadline set by the authorities. Afghan migrants who have recently returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan accused Pakistani police of mistreating them, saying that they faced harassment and torture after being detained there, local media reported on Tuesday.
Around 50 Afghan families returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan through the Torkham crossing by Monday, while Afghan migrants continued to face arrests in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Afghanistan-based Tolo News reported.
Najibullah, an Afghan migrant who was recently deported from Pakistan, said that police launched operations against Afghan refugees after a state of emergency was declared in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. He alleged that Afghan nationals were being arrested from their homes, roads and markets and taken to detention centres for deportation.
"We were working at a factory there and earning around 600 Pakistani rupees a day. But they stopped us from working, took the money we had, arrested us at our workplace and forcibly deported us through the Torkham crossing," Tolo News quoted another Afghan migrant who was recently deported from Pakistan as saying.
Another deported Afghan migrant expressed concern over the lack of job opportunities in Afghanistan and urged the Taliban to provide them permanent jobs and help them in addressing economic problems.
On September 18, United Nations experts warned Pakistan against forcibly deporting Afghan refugees to Afghanistan, while calling on the authorities to urgently identify those at risk of persecution, torture and other serious human rights violations before deciding on their removal.
“We are gravely concerned over Pakistan’s forced return of Afghans. The immediate priority is the establishment of a transparent and accessible procedure through which Afghans at risk can come forward, be individually assessed, and obtain protection from removal while that assessment is carried out," the experts said.
"Without such procedures, vulnerable individuals may remain in hiding, unable to seek protection for fear of arrest, detention or removal," they added.
The experts highlighted that Pakistani authorities had directed all medical and dental institutions in the country to remove Afghan students. At least 100 Afghan students currently in Pakistan will reportedly be affected by these orders, including 20 to 40 women.
They further urged the Pakistan government to halt the removal of Afghan nationals, especially women and unaccompanied children, in accordance with its obligation of non-refoulement--not to return any individual to a situation where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment, arbitrary deprivation of life, enforced disappearance, arbitrary detention, or other serious and irreparable harm.
They also expressed serious concern over the implementation of a directive issued by Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior on June 28, 2026, instructing provincial authorities to detain and deport Afghan nationals without valid documentation after July 10.
Citing information, the experts said that approximately 127,344 Afghans crossed back into Afghanistan between July 10 and August 27 this year, including at least 14,186 who were reportedly forcibly removed. They noted that around 38,388 of those crossing the border were women and children.
Source: IANS
About Gopi
Gopi Adusumilli is a Programmer. He is the editor of SocialNews.XYZ and President of AGK Fire Inc.
He enjoys designing websites, developing mobile applications and publishing news articles on current events from various authenticated news sources.
When it comes to writing he likes to write about current world politics and Indian Movies. His future plans include developing SocialNews.XYZ into a News website that has no bias or judgment towards any.
He can be reached at gopi@socialnews.xyz