Afghan envoy meets UNHCR official in Islamabad, discusses mistreatment of migrants

Sardar Ahmed Shakib, head of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, met with Philippa Candler, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad this week and expressed concern over the detention of Afghan migrants in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The embassy in Islamabad said in a statement that Shakib emphasized that migrants who have legal documents should be supported and not arrested.

He added that in some instances they are forced to pay bribes and large sums of money.

Philippa Candler meanwhile said that she had received complaints about the mistreatment of Afghan migrants by the Pakistani police and added that she will discuss this matter with the Pakistani authorities in the coming days.

The meeting comes amid ongoing reports of arbitrary detention and harassment of Afghan refugees and asylum seekers by law enforcement agencies in Islamabad in Pakistan.

Babu Ram Pant, Deputy Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, said last week this action by Pakistan was part of a large discriminatory policy against Afghans inside the country.

“The police night raids, harassment and arbitrary detention of hundreds of Afghan refugees, including women and children, in the capital city is part of a larger discriminatory policy against Afghans inside the country.

Amnesty International stated that the Pakistani government has repeatedly and arbitrarily enacted policies increasing the precarity of Afghan refugees inside the country… and this newest policy measure has endangered an already at-risk population.

Pant said: “The Pakistani authorities’ actions are sweeping and discretionary in nature and have resulted in the harassment and detention of refugees even when in possession of valid documents and visas.

“All refugees and asylum seekers, regardless of documentation status, have the right to due process and protection against forced return in international human rights law.

“Amnesty International urges Pakistan to abide by its obligations under international law, including the principle of non-refoulement, by taking immediate steps to ensure the release of all those detained and revoking the policy of obtaining an NOC at once.”