ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan\u2019s embassy in Pakistan said around 800 Afghans living in the capital have been detained by authorities, including some who are registered with the UN\u2019s refugee agency.
\nIt warned in a statement late on Monday that uncertainty around the visa process for Afghans in Pakistan has caused \u201ctroubling cases of arbitrary detention and deportation.\u201d
\nIslamabad has cracked down on undocumented Afghans as political tensions with Kabul have increased, forcing more than 780,000 Afghans back across the border since the end of 2023 \u2014 including some who have lived in Pakistan for decades.
\n\u201cThe Embassy of Afghanistan expresses its deep concern over the recent detention of approximately 800 Afghan nationals in Islamabad,\u201d it said on social media platform X.
\n\u201cThis has caused the tragic separation of families, including women and children, many of whom remain stranded in Pakistan.\u201d
\nThe statement said the number included 137 Afghans with pending visa extension requests or who are temporarily registered with the UNHCR, the UN\u2019s refugee agency.
\nThe embassy was \u201calarmed by reports of unwarranted arrests, home searches, and extortion targeting Afghan nationals,\u201d it said.
\nPakistan\u2019s Foreign Ministry has not responded to requests for comment.
\nMore than 600,000 Afghans have fled to Pakistan since the Afghan Taliban regained control of Kabul in August 2021, including tens of thousands on the advice of Western nations with the promise of relocation.
\nMany are forced by embassies to wait for months in guest houses in Islamabad while their cases are processed and have reported a rise in harassment by police in recent weeks.
\nThe Pakistan government said its deportation campaign is a bid to improve security after a rise in militancy in the border regions.
\nBut Afghans say they are being targeted because of a political falling-out between Islamabad and Kabul.
\n\u201cThe Afghans in Pakistan awaiting immigration are going through so much pain,\u201d Umer Ijaz Gilani, a lawyer who represents Afghans, told AFP.
\nMillions of Afghans have fled into Pakistan to escape successive conflicts over decades, becoming deeply ingrained in Pakistani society.
\nAccording to the UNHCR, Pakistan currently hosts some 1.5 million Afghan refugees and asylum-seekers, alongside more than 1.5 million Afghans of different legal statuses.
\nPakistan has given a series of short-term extensions to Afghans with registered refugee status, currently due to expire in June 2025.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
ISLAMABAD: Afghanistan\u2019s embassy in Pakistan said around 800 Afghans living in the capital have been detained by authorities, including some who are registered with the UN\u2019s refugee agency. It warned in a statement late on Monday that uncertainty around the visa process for Afghans in Pakistan has caused \u201ctroubling cases of arbitrary detention and deportation.\u201d […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":454027,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-454015","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-world"},"yoast_head":"\n