Afghan refugees gather in a makeshift camp upon their arrival from Pakistan, near … [+]
In October 2023, the Pakistani government announced that it would arrest and deport hundreds of thousands of unregistered foreign nationals and undocumented immigrants. The deadline was set for November 1, 2023. This was reportedly going to affect some 1.7 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, but also members of other persecuted communities, including China’s Uyghurs and Myanmar’s Rohingya. While the majority of the more than 4 million Afghans living in Pakistan have been in the country since the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, between 600,000 and 800,000 Afghans are believed to have arrived in Pakistan after the Taliban took power in 2021.
Thousands of Afghans affected by the decision have been living in Pakistan for decades. They consider Pakistan as their home. Forcing them to leave Pakistan means they are in immediate danger of becoming homeless and losing their livelihoods. In addition, there are groups of people who are at particular risk if pushed back into Taliban-run Afghanistan.
Among others, the United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF), a US federal government commission created by the International Religious Freedom Act of 1998, has expressed concern about the situation of religious minorities, including Christians, Shia Muslims, Ahmadiyya Muslims and Sikhs. , who may be forced to return to Afghanistan where they will face a serious threat. Similar concerns have been expressed by its members Hazara Shiites group, an ethno-religious numerical minority community that has suffered targeted attacks by the Taliban and IS-K. Among other things, at the beginning of November 2023, IS-K claimed responsibility for a bus attack that targeted the community in Afghanistan’s capital Kabul, killing seven people and injuring more than 20.
In addition, as international Amnesty said, deporting Afghans to Pakistan “would put women and girls in particular at grave risk, as they would be exposed to persecution and other serious human rights violations simply because of their gender and sex. For a vast majority of those living and studying in Pakistan it may be their only chance to obtain a formal education. A significant number of Afghan refugees, including journalists, human rights defenders, women protesters, artists and former government officials and security personnel, would also be at immediate risk of persecution and repression by the Taliban if forced to return to Afghanistan.”
Reports state that there are approx 200 Afghan journalists endangered in Pakistan and awaiting resettlement in other countries. Many of them are undocumented as their travel documents have expired.
Thousands of Afghans have already fled Pakistan, fearing arrest and deportation. Pakistani authorities are also said to have heeded their warning. As indicated by USCIRF, “authorities have made reports raids and established deportation centers to detain people who do not voluntarily return to their country of origin.” At the beginning of November 2023, the Guardian reported that Pakistan had begun arresting and deporting Afghan refugees who missed the deadline to leave. Amnesty International reported that 49 detention centers (also referred to as “detention” or “transit” centers) have been established throughout Pakistan. As international Amnesty he noted, “These deportation centers are not built under a specific law and operate alongside the legal system. (…) in at least seven detention centers, no legal rights are extended to detainees, such as the right to a lawyer or contact with family members. Such centers violate the right to liberty and fair trial. Also, no information is made public, which makes it difficult for families to locate their loved ones.”
Commenting on the developments, Professor Javaid Rehman, Professor of International Human Rights Law at Brunel University London (UK) and Clerk of the Supreme Court in Pakistan, said: “I am concerned about the serious violations of international human rights law and constitutional laws of Pakistan. in the current ongoing mass deportation of Afghans from Pakistan. I am receiving alarming reports of fundamental rights violations, including arbitrary detention and forced repatriation of Afghans across the border: this will unfortunately lead to significant human tragedy and further destabilization. I do not see that the current transitional government has the constitutional authority to carry out such actions and therefore I would strongly urge [international community] to take into account this profound human and humanitarian crisis”.
More than two years after the fall of Kabul, little attention is paid to Afghan refugees stranded in neighboring countries awaiting aid and resettlement. Recent years have also seen further conflicts and situations that are producing more and more refugees and putting more pressure on the already crumbling system.
