Unexplained incarcerations complicate matters for Afghan refugees

The unexplained incarceration of Afghan refugees in Pakistan amidst the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan and growing tensions between the Taliban government and Islamabad over the border issue, has complicated matters for the Afghan refugees, writes Noman Hossain, a freelance journalist in a report for Khaama Press.

"The unexplained incarceration is not a new development in Pakistan. Their frequency, however, has increased significantly since the Taliban's return to power in Kabul," Hossain writes.

Women and children in prison face inhuman conditions, and rape threats. There is no justice in sight.

Even though local human rights bodies in Pakistan like the National Commission for Human Rights (NCHR) have highlighted the issues faced by the Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the provincial government and security forces have ignored their pleas.

The state security agencies regularly pick up Afghan men for interrogations. Even Afghan women and children face incarcerations without proper judicial explanation.

"Over 200 Afghan women and underage children have been locked up at the Karachi Central Jail for nearly two months now. While it is reported that they were arrested because of their alleged "illegal" stay in Pakistan, some human rights activists revealed that these women and children were considered a security 'threat' by the local police," wrote Hossain for the Khaama Press.

The Khaama Press report also quoted Haya Zahid, a Legal Empowerment Practitioner from Karachi. Zahid said: "Many Afghan women travelled to Pakistan for better medical treatment. Each has around six-eight children. Despite being locked in a barrack, every time an official visits, the children's eyes light up."

The NCHR is providing legal recourse to the Afghan nationals imprisoned in Karachi. The NCHR officials are trying to send imprisoned Afghan nationals back to Afghanistan.

Afghan women regularly travel to Pakistan for medical treatment whereas adult males look for work opportunities in Pakistan. Most of them also carry their children, who end up becoming collateral damage.

The UN Refugee Agency, recently, raised alarm over images and reports of the arrest and detention of Afghan refugees in Pakistan's Sindh province.

"UNHCR is extremely concerned to see images and reports of the arrest and detention of Afghan @refugees in Sindh province, particularly Karachi. Irrespective of their status, children and families should not be behind bars," United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mission in Pakistan wrote on Twitter on Thursday.