Islamabad : The Afghan consulate in Karachi has said that over the past three months, at least three Afghan refugees have died in prisons in Pakistan, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported. The consulate said that more than 1,000 Afghan refugees, including women and children, are in prisons in Pakistan.
Farzad, a resident of Afghanistan's Faryab, said that his father, who was detained by Pakistani police, died in prison. According to him, his parents were detained by the Pakistani police when they went to the country for medical treatment. He said that his father died in the prison and that his mother has not yet been released.
"The dead body was at one of the hospitals in Karachi for 21 days because we waited in case my mother could at least come for the funeral of her husband, but unfortunately, the Islamic Emirate has not been able to get her released," he said, as quoted by TOLO News.
Abdul Jabar Takhari, the Afghan consul in Karachi, said that the cases of 150 refugees have been addressed and that they will be released soon.
"1,050 people are imprisoned here. 150 of them are children and 138 of them are women. The decree for the release of 152 prisoners has been issued and they will be freed within two to three days," he said, as quoted by TOLO News.
This comes as Afghan refugees in Pakistan complain of mistreatment by the country's police. "The Afghans cannot travel freely now. People are facing a lot of problems. The detentions are increasing with every passing day," said Nazar, a refugee rights activist, according to TOLO News.
According to the UNHCR, around 1.3 million Afghans are currently living in Pakistan. Khaama Press recently reported that the recent steps by the Sindh provincial government to deal with illegal migrants is attracting bad press.
The Khaama Press report said that the authorities have detained around 1,200 Afghan men, women, and children without visas or stay permits, who now live in fear of imprisonment or possible deportation to Afghanistan.
The Afghan refugees had entered Pakistan with or without visas, seeking refuge, the report said. The Afghans now need a visa extension to legally live in Pakistan, the report stated, adding that this would mean that they will be subjected to expensive and unregulated agents.
The charges d'affaires (diplomatic representative of state) of Afghanistan's embassy in Islamabad, Sardar Ahmad Shakib, recently asked the Pakistani government to stop arresting Afghan citizens residing in Pakistan, reported TOLO News. More than 1,000 Afghans are imprisoned in Pakistan, Shakib said.
"1,050 Afghan citizens are in Pakistan's prisons and efforts are underway to release them and we called on the Pakistan government to stop arresting Afghan citizens," Shakib said, as quoted by TOLO News.