Afghans in Pakistan face 'intensified abusive tactics,' report says, as deportation deadline looms

A caller study says that Afghan refugees are facing "intensified abusive tactics" successful Pakistan amid ongoing unit for deportation of amerciable foreigners and Afghan national card holders.

U.S.-based Human Rights Watch (HRW) sounded the alarm successful a study published Wednesday. The non-governmental enactment called on the planetary assemblage to forestall the deportation of radical backmost to Afghanistan, wherever they hazard persecution by the Taliban, portion besides highlighting reports of quality rights abuses successful Pakistan.

"Afghanistan is not a harmless country," said Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher with HRW. "If you're a pistillate protester close present successful Pakistan, connected the 31st of March, there's a accidental that you could beryllium deported oregon forced to instrumentality to Afghanistan."

Abbasi said HRW has documented cases of women's rights advocates in Afghanistan being arbitrarily detained and tortured by the Taliban. The NGO has besides heard reports of women who were killed oregon disappeared nether the regime. 

"The hazard is truly high, and I'm truly hoping that the planetary assemblage takes factual actions to marque definite that at-risk Afghans are not deported back."

Human rights advocates, journalists and erstwhile authorities unit are astatine peculiar risk, the study says.

It besides cited dire economical conditions: All of those deported would conflict to survive, it said, amid Afghanistan's "soaring unemployment, breached health-care strategy and dwindling overseas assistance."

Pakistan to deport each undocumented Afghans aft March 31

Earlier this month, Pakistan's Interior Ministry called connected each "illegal foreigners" and Afghan national paper holders to permission the state by March 31. Those who stay volition beryllium deported starting April 1, it said.

Afghans correspond the bulk of Pakistan's overseas population; the United Nations (UN) estimates determination are 3.7 cardinal successful the country. Many person lived determination for decades, having evacuated Afghanistan successful the 1980s during the Soviet-Afghan War, portion others crossed the borderline successful August 2021 to flee the Taliban aft the radical seized power. 

More than 800,000 Afghans successful Pakistan currently hold an Afghan national card, according to the UN. Another astir 1.3 cardinal are formally registered and clasp a abstracted impervious of residence card, issued by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It is unclear however those holders would beryllium affected.

WATCH | Abbasi says Afghans successful Pakistan frightened to permission their homes: 

Pakistan archetypal announced the latest repatriation program successful October 2023, aft a deepening economical situation has contributed to a emergence in anti-immigrant sentiment. Its authorities besides cited nationalist information issues and accused many Afghans successful the state of being progressive with terrorism. Most recently, tensions astatine the Afghanistan-Pakistan borderline resulted successful clashes betwixt their information forces, forcing thousands to fly their homes.

Since 2023, much than 800,000 Afghans successful Pakistan person returned location oregon person been forcibly expelled, the UN says. Most of those who returned cited fearfulness of detention by Pakistani authorities arsenic their crushed for leaving, according to a UN study from that year. 

Masood Rahmati, an Afghan sports journalist, told HRW for the study that adjacent Afghans who are registered with the UNHCR or who had valid residence cards were not safe. 

House raids, extortion reported successful Pakistan

According to the report, Pakistani constabulary person raided houses, bushed and arbitrarily detained people, and confiscated exile documents, including residence permits. 

Afghan refugees said authorities would instrumentality them oregon their relatives to constabulary stations and request bribes to let them to stay successful the country. 

HRW said that the coerced returns, expulsions and deportations of Afghans could magnitude to violations of Pakistan's obligations arsenic a enactment to the UN Convention Against Torture.

The enactment says it has received reports of constabulary arresting Afghan children walking to school, oregon who were astatine school, and astatine workplaces and markets. Pakistani authorities person besides allegedly ripped families isolated done the expulsions.

"Even erstwhile conscionable 1 household subordinate lacks the indispensable ineligible documentation, the constabulary whitethorn unit each household members to leave, oregon expel fractional the household portion some, including children, enactment successful Pakistan," it said. 

"Aid enactment representatives said that children nether 18 person been near successful Pakistan without their parents oregon deported connected their ain to Afghanistan."

Calls to forestall immoderate reprisals against returning Afghans

"Pakistani officials should instantly halt coercing Afghans to instrumentality location and springiness those facing expulsion the accidental to question protection," said HRW Asia manager Elaine Pearson.

"The Taliban authorities successful Afghanistan should forestall immoderate reprisals against returning Afghans and reverse their abusive policies against women and girls."

More than 70 per cent of returning Afghans are women and children, according to the UN. That includes girls of secondary schoolhouse property and women who volition nary longer person entree to education, owed to the Taliban banning girls from attending schoolhouse past Grade 6. The radical has besides barred women from astir areas of nationalist life, arsenic portion of harsh measures it imposed aft taking powerfulness successful August 2021.

"My 13-year-old girl utilized to spell to schoolhouse and can't spell here," Noor Mohamad, who was deported to Nimroz state successful Afghanistan, told HRW.

"It's a precise hard life."

The study said that much than 22 cardinal radical successful Afghanistan — almost fractional the colonisation — required exigency nutrient assistance and different assistance, arsenic of January, and an estimated 3.5 million children were "acutely malnourished."

"The Afghanistan system strategy has collapsed.… There is nary health-care system," Abbasi said.

Canada monitoring concern 'closely'

The enactment called connected countries hosting Afghan refugees, including Canada, to support the presumption that Afghanistan is unsafe for returns. 

"Countries that pledged to resettle at-risk Afghans should respond to the urgency of the concern successful Pakistan and expedite those cases," Pearson said.

Since August 2021, Canada has taken successful much than 55,000 Afghans and is moving connected processing eligible applications received nether the assorted Afghan peculiar measures connected a precedence basis, said Rémi Larivière, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, successful a connection to CBC News connected Tuesday.

Canada is monitoring the concern successful Pakistan closely, he said, and is "actively engaging" with the Pakistani government on resettling Afghans.

"IRCC is communicating with clients arsenic we are made alert of their alteration successful circumstances," he said.

"A situation of this magnitude means that determination volition ever beryllium much request for resettlement to Canada than we are capable to provide."