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UN alarmed by reports of human rights abuses against Afghans forced to leave Pakistan
UN Human Rights Chief Volker Türk said Wednesday night he was alarmed by reports that the arbitrary expulsion of Afghan nationals from Pakistan has been accompanied by abuse, including ill-treatment, arbitrary arrests and detention, destruction of property and personal belongings, and extortion.
Pakistan ordered undocumented foreigners, including Afghans residing in Pakistan, to leave the country by November 1 this year. Between 15 September and 11 November, over 327,000 people have arrived in Afghanistan from Pakistan, many compelled to leave out of fear of arrest, the UN said in a statement.
Reports have also emerged that the Pakistani authorities have in some instances disregarded their promise to only expel undocumented migrants, the UN Human Rights Office said.
“These new developments are at variance with Pakistan’s decades-long tradition of hosting, generously, Afghan refugees in vast numbers,” Türk said.
The UN Human Rights Office has received first-hand accounts from Afghans crossing the border who allege they were subjected to arbitrary treatment or abuse by Pakistan authorities.
One person said: “The local police conducted a night raid on our home. They confiscated cash, jewelry, goats, sheep and other items from our home and took them. They gave us just a few hours to collect the remaining stuff and leave the home by that day at dawn. As we were leaving, a bulldozer began to destroy our home. We felt very helpless and left the village with eyes full of tears.”
“Many Afghans are arriving with very few financial resources, having been forced to leave their homes and jobs, in addition to being forced to pay bribes or having their possessions seized,” Türk said. “In the current context of Afghanistan, this is exacerbating an already precarious humanitarian situation.”
In some instances reported to UN Human Rights, Afghans have been arbitrarily arrested and detained in Pakistan, with some alleging ill-treatment.
“Arbitrary arrests and detentions are contrary to Pakistan’s obligations under international law,” Türk added.
“The right to liberty of person is a fundamental right guaranteed to everyone without discrimination, including all migrants, irrespective of status. Immigration detention should be a last resort, and not used to compel return, and should be avoided completely in the case of children and other vulnerable groups.”
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights renewed his appeal to the government of Pakistan to suspend the Afghan return programme until individual assessment procedures and other safeguards required by international law are in place, and to investigate complaints of abuse by law enforcement officers.
Officials confirm that hundreds of people have been killed and injured after floods in Baghlan, Badakhshan, Ghor and Herat provinces of Afghanistan.
The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in a statement said that a large number of houses have been destroyed and people have suffered huge financial losses.
In the statement, the Ministry of State for Disaster Management, the Ministry of Interior Affairs, and the provincial authorities have been directed to use all their resources to save people, recover the bodies, and treat the injured.
The Islamic Emirate called on the citizens to assist the flood victims.
In Baghlan, Ziauddin, director of Baghlan-i-Markazi district hospital, said that 52 bodies, including 13 women and 13 children, have been taken to the hospital from the floods on Friday night. He added that 73 injured people have also been admitted.
In Takhar, Ahmad Siyar Sajid, the head of natural disasters management of the province, said that eight people died in Ishkemesh, Chal and Namak Ab districts of this province.
Hedayatullah Hamdard, head of the Natural Disaster Department in Baghlan, says at least 50 were killed on Friday afternoon due to floods in several districts of the province.
Hamdard added the figure is not total and that the death toll may increase.
Over the past two days, floods have also caused huge financial losses in Chaharsada and Murghab districts of Ghor province and two people including a child and an old man have disappeared.
Hundreds of acres of agricultural land were destroyed in Chaharsada district and about 50 livestock were also lost.
According to local officials in Ghor, around 50 residential houses in Chaharsada district are under floods.
Iranian officials say work is intensely underway on the implementation of plan to block the country’s eastern border with Afghanistan.
According to Iranian media, the commander of the Ground Forces of Iran spoke on Thursday at a ceremony in the city of Mashhad about the sealing of the country’s borders with Afghanistan.
Kioumars Heydari added: “According to the measures contemplated by the Islamic Republic, we are in the process of sealing the borders.”
He did not specify the exact timing for the completion of the border sealing plan between Iran and Afghanistan, but added: “Our estimate is that the sealing of the eastern border of the country will be completed as soon as possible.”
Afghanistan and Iran share more than 900 kilometers of common border.
Experts, meanwhile, believe that this will cause a change in dealings with Afghan immigrants.
The Islamic Emirate, however, says fencing on the borders of Iran and Afghanistan will proceed in coordination with the Afghan government.
According to experts, Iran is seeking to solve its security concerns and will spend a lot of money in the process of blocking the border but this border wall will be finished for the benefit of both countries, and drug trafficking and movement of terrorist groups will be at least under control.
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