Pak court orders release of at least 400 Afghan Refugees, includes 257 children

Kabul [Afghanistan], January 5 (ANI): After Afghan refugees in Pakistan complained of ill-treatment by the Pakistani police, a in Pakistan's Karachi city ordered the release of 405 Afghan nationals, TOLO news quoted the Afghanistan consulate in Karachi as saying.

The Afghan refugees included 257 children, 712 men and 194 women. According to consulate Abdul Jabar Takhari, the order will become into effect in the coming days.

"We have once released 428 people and they returned to the country. Now, the court ordered the release of 405 other people. Their paperwork is under process and they will also go back to Afghanistan," he said, TOLO news reported on Wednesday.

"There are 257 children, 712 men and 194 women," he added.

Currently, the Afghans living in Pakistan without proper documentation are facing numerous issues and being mistreated in the country.

"They must sit with Pakistan and speak about Afghans and fix a time in which they can return to Afghanistan. Or they should be registered and provided with cards because the Afghans are facing many problems," said Nazar Khogianiwal, a refugees rights activist.

"Afghans who are living in Pakistan without documents, are facing many problems. We call on the Afghanistan government to share the issue with Pakistan and the UNHCR," said Awal Khan, a refugees rights activist.

A recent report in The Diplomat magazine said that the Pakistani police have detained at least 1,200 Afghan migrants, including women and children, who had entered the southern port city of Karachi without proper documents.

The arrests drew condemnation from Afghanistan and UN bodies after images of locked-up Afghan children spread online. The detentions underscored the strained relations between the two South Asian neighbours, the Washington-based magazine reported citing officials.

A Khaama Press report said that the unexplained incarceration of Afghan refugees in Pakistan amidst the deteriorating security situation in Pakistan and growing tensions between the Taliban government and Islamabad over the border issue has complicated matters for the Afghan refugees. (ANI)