Two Days Before Deadline, Pakistan Deports 213 Afghan Refugees

(MENAFN- IANS) Rawalpindi, March 28 (IANS) Over 200 Afghan refugees have been deported by Islamabad to their home country as Pakistan remains determined on its mass deportation plan.

Out of the 923 individuals arrested in Rawalpindi, 213 were deported to Afghanistan, according to local media reports on Thursday.

This deportation comes before the March 31 deadline set by the Pakistani government.

As Islamabad launched the arrest and detention of refugees, as many as 923 Afghan nationals were shifted to the Afghan refugee holding centre near the Golra Mor in Rawalpindi, Pakistan's leading daily, Dawn reported, quoting sources.

However, 22 of the arrested detainees escaped from the centre on Wednesday, and on Thursday, the centre had no inmates, according to the reports.

Among the total number of Afghan refugees detained, 86 had their visas expired, 116 had Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC), and 290 possessed Proof of Registration (PoR).

A senior police official told Dawn that it was very clear that ACC holders would be expelled from Rawalpindi and Islamabad before the deadline.

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif-led government has decided against extending the March 31 deadline for Afghan nationals to leave the country.

Earlier, Islamabad had turned down the Afghan government's request to extend the stay of Afghan nationals residing in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Condemning the Pakistani government, the Human Rights group Amnesty International recently stated that the government's unyielding and cruel deadline, which is a few days away to remove Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, resulting in the deportation of many at risk, shows little respect for international human rights law.

"The Pakistani govt plans to arbitrarily and forcibly expel Afghan nationals, including refugees and asylum seekers, as part of the 'Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan', scapegoating a community that has long been disenfranchised and fled persecution," Amnesty International posted on X.

Last week, the human rights body slammed Pakistan for the forced deportation of Afghan refugees. US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) urged that Pakistan should immediately end the forced return and deportation of Afghan refugees.

Pakistani authorities have been accused of intensifying abusive tactics and other pressure on Afghan refugees to return to Afghanistan much before the deadline.

According to the rights watchdog, Pakistani police have raided houses, beaten and arbitrarily detained people, and confiscated their refugee documents, including residence permits. They have also demanded bribes to allow Afghans to remain in Pakistan.

The United Nations has also reported that most Afghans who have returned to Afghanistan have cited fear of detention by Pakistani authorities as the reason they left.

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