Human Rights Watch has expressed concern over the Pakistani government’s plan to deport over one million Afghan migrants, stating that this action puts expelled migrants at risk of harassment and persecution.
The organization responded on Thursday to Islamabad’s plan to expel more than one million undocumented Afghan migrants from Pakistan. Human Rights Watch emphasized that the threat of forced expulsion comes at a precarious time, as the human rights situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated, with the Taliban regime violating women’s rights, including their right to work, education, access to healthcare, and freedom of movement.
Human Rights Watch also noted that Pakistan’s threat of forced expulsion has led to many Afghan migrants facing illegal detention, harassment, and abuse by the country’s police.
The organization called on Pakistan to halt the threat of forced expulsion of refugees and migrants and to cooperate with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in registering Afghan refugees.
Patricia Gossman, the Asia director of Human Rights Watch, stated, “As countries rush to repatriate Afghan refugees, and the UN is caught off guard by Pakistan’s decision, Afghans are at risk of returning to their country to face harassment by the Taliban and a humanitarian crisis.”
She mentioned that Afghan migrants in Pakistan have long been used as a political football between the two countries.
Human Rights Watch reported that many Afghan refugees in Pakistan have applied for asylum in countries such as the United States, Germany, and Canada, 200,000 of them having been relocated so far, while the rest remain in limbo.
Human Rights Watch further warned that Afghanistan is currently in a humanitarian and economic crisis, putting more than half its population at serious risk of food insecurity. This situation disproportionately affects women who are heads of households and has increased malnutrition levels among children.
Human Rights Watch also criticized European Union member states, the United States, Germany, the United Kingdom, and Canada for falling short in addressing the needs of refugees they had promised to resettle, calling on these countries to fulfil their commitments to resettle refugees facing danger.
According to statistics, 3.7 million Afghan migrants reside in Pakistan, with 700,000 of them having left the country after the return of the Taliban to power.
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