Current:Home > Contact-usPakistani police cracking down on migrants are arresting Afghan women and children, activists claim-InfoLens
Pakistani police cracking down on migrants are arresting Afghan women and children, activists claim
View Date:2024-12-23 16:08:34
KARACHI, Pakistan (AP) — Pakistani police are arresting Afghan women and children in southern Sindh province as part of a government crackdown on undocumented migrants, activists said Saturday.
More than 250,000 Afghans have left Pakistan in recent weeks as the government rounded up, arrested and kicked out foreign nationals without papers. It set an Oct. 31 deadline for undocumented migrants to leave the country voluntarily.
The expulsions mostly affect Afghans, who make up the majority of foreigners living in Pakistan. Authorities maintain they are targeting all who are in the country illegally.
Human rights lawyer Moniza Kakar said police in Sindh launch midnight raids on people’s homes and detain Afghan families, including women and children.
Since Nov. 1, she and other activists have stationed themselves outside detention centers in Karachi to help Afghans. But they say they face challenges accessing the centers. They don’t have information about raid timings or deportation buses leaving the port city for Afghanistan.
“They’ve been arresting hundreds of Afghan nationals daily since the Oct. 31 deadline, sparing neither children nor women,” Kakar said.
Last December, Afghan women and children were among 1,200 people jailed in Karachi for entering the city without valid travel documents. The arrests brought criticism from around Afghanistan after images of locked-up children were circulated online.
In the latest crackdown, even Afghans with documentation face the constant threat of detention, leading many to confine themselves to their homes for fear of deportation, Kakar said. “Some families I know are struggling without food, forced to stay indoors as police officials continue arresting them, regardless of their immigration status.”
She highlighted the plight of refugee children born in Pakistan without proof of identity, even when their parents have papers. Minors are being separated from their families, she told The Associated Press.
A Pakistani child who speaks Pashto, one of Afghanistan’s official languages, was detained and deported because his parents were unable register him in the national database, according to Kakar.
The head of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Hina Jilani, said Pakistan lacks a comprehensive mechanism to handle refugees, asylum-seekers, and undocumented migrants, despite hosting Afghans for 40 years.
She criticised the government’s “one-size-fits-all approach” and called for a needs-based assessment, especially for those who crossed the border after the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021.
Violence against Pakistani security forces and civilians has surged since the Taliban takeover. Most attacks have been claimed by the Pakistani Taliban, the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan or TTP, a separate militant group but a close ally of the Afghan Taliban.
On Saturday, the TTP claimed responsibility for an attack that killed three police officers and injured another three in northwest Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province bordering Afghanistan.
Pakistan accuses the Taliban of harboring militants from groups like the TTP — allegations that the Taliban deny — and said undocumented Afghans are responsible for some of the attacks.
Jilani highlighted the humanitarian aspect of dealing with Pakistan’s Afghan communities, saying they shouldn’t be solely viewed through a security lens.
The Sindh official responsible for detention and deportation centers in the province, Junaid Iqbal Khan, admitted there were “initial incidents” of mistaken identity, with documented refugees and even Pakistani nationals being taken to transit points or detention centers. But now only foreigners without proper registration or documentation are sent for deportation, Khan said.
Around 2,000 detainees have been taken to a central transit point in the past 10 days, with several buses heading to the Afghan border daily through southwest Baluchistan province.
Khan said he wasn’t involved in raids or detentions so couldn’t comment on allegations of mishandling.
Pakistan has long hosted millions of Afghans, most of whom fled during the 1979-1989 Soviet occupation. More than half a million fled Afghanistan after the Taliban takeover.
___
Riaz Khan contributed from Peshawar, Pakistan.
veryGood! (748)
Related
- Women suing over Idaho’s abortion ban describe dangerous pregnancies, becoming ‘medical refugees’
- House Democrats send letter to Biden criticizing Netanyahu's military strategy
- Is turkey healthy? Read this before Christmas dinner.
- The French parliament approves a divisive immigration bill, prompting a heated debate
- Detroit Mayor Mike Duggan says next year will be his last in office; mum on his plans afterward
- Ireland to launch a legal challenge against the UK government over Troubles amnesty bill
- Ohio woman charged with abuse of a corpse after miscarriage. What to know about the case
- UK inflation falls by more than anticipated to 2-year low of 3.9% in November
- Tom Brady Shares How He's Preparing for Son Jack to Be a Stud
- Top Hamas leader arrives in Cairo for talks on the war in Gaza in another sign of group’s resilience
Ranking
- Footage shows Oklahoma officer throwing 70-year-old to the ground after traffic ticket
- New York man who served 37 years in prison for killing 2 men released after conviction overturned
- This AI code that detects when guns, threats appear on school cameras is available for free
- Community Health Network to pay government $345M to settle Medicare fraud charges
- NFL overreactions: New York Jets, Dallas Cowboys going nowhere after Week 10
- Lawsuit alleges Wisconsin Bar Association minority program is unconstitutional
- Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina kicks off election campaign amid an opposition boycott
- Israel’s top diplomat wants to fast-track humanitarian aid to Gaza via maritime corridor from Cyprus
Recommendation
-
Man Found Dead in Tanning Bed at Planet Fitness Gym After 3 Days
-
Here's why your North Face and Supreme gifts might not arrive by Christmas Day
-
Christmas cookies, cocktails and the perils of a 'sugar high' — and hangover
-
Will Chick-fil-A open on Sunday? New bill would make it required at New York rest stops.
-
Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Take the Day Off
-
Filmmakers call on Iranian authorities to drop charges against 2 movie directors
-
What to know about Jeter Downs, who Yankees claimed on waivers from Nationals
-
Florida deputy’s legal team says he didn’t have an obligation to stop Parkland school shooter