Intensified Deportation of Afghan Refugees from Pakistan Amid Visa Extension Suspension

Photo: AP, published via VOA News

Following the suspension of the visa extension process for Afghan refugees, Pakistani police have intensified the arrest and forced deportation operations in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

Local sources reported on Saturday, July 26, that in B-17 township of Rawalpindi and various areas of Islamabad, children, women, the elderly, and sick individuals with expired visas are being arrested.

It is reported that Pakistan has completely halted the visa extension process for Afghan refugees for more than 20 days, and so far, no official explanation has been provided regarding the resumption of this process. Previously, Pakistan’s Ministry of Interior had reduced the visa extension period for Afghan migrants from six months to one month.

Refugees have warned that the suspension of this process and the increase in arrests have endangered the lives of thousands of migrants who are under threat from the Taliban in Afghanistan, including journalists, civil activists, and women.

Meanwhile, the United Nations has confirmed in a recent report that individuals deported from neighboring countries have been arrested, tortured, and imprisoned by the Taliban upon return to Afghanistan.