All states, including Pakistan, must uphold rights of refugees: US

The deputy spokesman for the US Department of State, Vedant Patel, asked all countries, including Pakistan to adhere to their obligations towards Afghan refugees.

Speaking in a press conference on Tuesday Patel stated that the US joins partners in urging all states, including Pakistan, to uphold their respective obligations in their treatment of refugees and asylum seekers and to respect the principle of non-refoulement.

Patel also asked the government of Pakistan and other neighboring countries of Afghanistan to allow Afghans who seek international support to enter their countries.

“We strongly encourage Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with the appropriate international humanitarian organizations,” said Patel.

Meanwhile, the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Aid (OCHA) says that more than 20,000 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan through the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossing between November 1 and 4.

According to OCHA, more than 60% of them are children.

Based on its recent assessment, OCHA called the situation of migrants deported from Pakistan as “desperate “.

On Tuesday, OCHA wrote in a post on X, formerly twitter, that many had traveled for days, unclear of where to return to and were stranded at the border.

OCHA says funding is urgently needed to help migrants stuck at the crossing.

This comes after Pakistan started arresting and deporting refugees without documents on November 1; a process that affects 1.7 million Afghan refugees.

Despite the pressures of international organizations supporting human rights and asylum seekers, Pakistan has not backed down from its decision to expel undocumented Afghan immigrants.