Afghan refugees hold protest in front of UNHRC

Afghan refugees held a protest in front of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHRC) office in Pakistan's federal capital Islamabad, claiming that no practical action has been taken to address their problems, ToloNews reported.

Afghan refugees also sent a letter to the UN and called for their problems to be addressed.

“The main problem of the Afghans is unemployment. The Afghans who are coming from Afghanistan to Pakistan are without work,” said Hedayatullah Ahadi, a Afghan refugee in Pakistan.

Expressing concern over his uncertain future, Faizullah Turk, another Afghan refugee in Pakistan, said that they have been waiting for their cases to proceed for the past two to three years.

The Taliban called for the Afghan refugees to return to the country.

“The Afghan refugees should return to their country and the Afghans who have recently gone and lack documents, they should return to their country,” said Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Islamic Emirate.

Based on official statistics, more than 1.6 million Afghans have migrated to neighbouring countries within the past nearly two years.

Pakistan is one of the primary destinations where Afghan refugees have travelled to after the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021. After the Taliban's return to power, new waves of Afghan refugees shifted to Iran and Pakistan due to various reasons, including fearing death threats and persecution by the Taliban.

In spite of the refugees having the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) certificate, Pakistani police and other relevant agencies continue detaining and incarcerating Afghan refugees in various parts of the country, including Islamabad, Khaama Press reported.

Earlier in the month, 26 Afghan detainees were released from Pakistan's jail in Quetta and returned to Afghanistan.

The Department of Refugees and Repatriation of Afghanistan said that these Afghan nationals were detained after failing to provide legal residence permits. The detainees were returned to the country through the Spin Boldak crossing point after being released, reported Khaama Press.