New York, April 22 (IANS) US-based advocacy group Human Rights Watch (HRW) has said that the Pakistani authorities have increased raids, arbitrary detentions and forced deportation of Afghan refugees after renewed border clashes with Afghanistan. HRW noted that thousands of vulnerable Afghan refugees, including children, have been face serious problems in accessing healthcare, education and other essential services due to police operations.
It also highlighted that Pakistan’s forced deportation of Afghans may amount to violations of the country’s obligations as a party to the UN Convention Against Torture and the customary international law prohibition against refoulement or forced return to a place where they would face a genuine risk of persecution, torture, or other ill-treatment, or a threat to their life.
“Pakistani authorities are spreading fear among Afghan refugees instead of treating them as people in need of protection. Abusive police practices are forcing people to forgo food and health care while mass deportations are returning refugees to possible persecution and worse in Afghanistan,” emphasised Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher at Human Rights Watch.
Abbasi urged Pakistan to take action against abusive police practices and immediately stop forcibly returning Afghan refugees. She urged the international community to raise their concerns about these practices with the Pakistani government and denounce continuing human rights violations by Afghanistan.
With the fighting between Pakistan and Afghanistan having escalated since February, Pakistani police authorities have increased operations against Afghan people in several areas of the country, conducting door-to-door raids, late-night night home searches, and arrests without warrants, the statement released by HRW revealed.
Police have arrested Afghans with valid visas and those without proper documents, which many Afghans lack since the Pakistani authorities stopped renewing Proof of Registration cards and other residency documents for Afghan refugees in 2023. Police usually transfer detained refugees to holding centres and then deport them. Over 146,000 Afghans have been deported from Pakistan in 2026, with the numbers increasing since April 1.
According to the statement, HRW interviewed eight Afghans in Pakistan from February-April and four had recently returned to Afghanistan and representatives of aid groups working with Afghan refugees. Those interviewed said that police arrested Afghans while they were shopping, going to school and seeking day labour, seizing their phones, cash and demanding bribes in exchange for release. Those who are not able to pay money have been detained and deported.
HRW stated that many Afghans, including journalists, human rights defenders, activists, and others, were at risk if they were deported to Afghanistan due to their past involvement with the former Afghan government or perceived criticism of the Taliban. Among those detained and forcibly deported are journalists who fled Afghanistan after the Taliban seized power in August 2021.
Afghan refugees in Pakistan cannot access health facilities and services until they do not provide valid visas, even in medical emergencies involving children. Fear of arrest has stopped families from seeking medical care, deteriorating physical and mental health conditions of Afghan refugees. Many Afghan families keep their children indoors to avoid apprehension and they were living in Pakistan in constant fear, unable to conduct ordinary daily activities due to the risk of arrest.
“The increased abuse began after the major escalation in fighting between Afghanistan and Pakistan in mid-October 2025. More than 1,000 Afghans, including young children, were detained during a November operation in the Surkhab refugee camp in Balochistan province. The authorities bulldozed homes and businesses inside the camp after removing residents.
“Those detained were transferred to the Chaman border crossing and forcibly returned to Afghanistan, often without knowing where their family members were or whether they would be reunited. In numerous cases over recent months, families have been forcibly separated. Children as young as 13 have been sent back to Afghanistan alone, while parents have been left behind without information about their children’s whereabouts,” the HRW stated.
–IANS
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