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US urges Pakistan to fulfill obligations towards Afghan refugees

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U.S. Department of State has called on all Afghanistan’s neighboring countries, including Pakistan to act according to their obligations in dealing with Afghan refugees and asylum seekers.

Speaking in a press conference on Wednesday, the spokesman of the state Matthew Miller said in response to a question that these countries must respect the “the principle of non-refoulement”.

“So, we join all of our partners in urging every state, including Pakistan, to uphold their respective obligations in their treatment of refugees and asylum [seekers], and to respect the principle of non-refoulement. We strongly encourage Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow entry for Afghans seeking international protection and to coordinate with international humanitarian organizations to provide humanitarian assistance,” said Miller.

This comes after the deadline set by the government of Pakistan for Afghan immigrants having no legal documents in that country ended on Tuesday.

The Interior Minister of the caretaker government of Pakistan, Sarfraz Bugti, has said that the process of arresting all illegal immigrants throughout Pakistan will begin on Thursday.

Bugti said that illegal immigrants will first be transferred to the designated centers, and then they will be deported from those centers to their country.

In response, the Islamic Emirate has said that the forced deportation of Afghan immigrants from Pakistan is against all international standards.

Sardar Ahmed Shakib, Chargé d’Affaires of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, in an interview with Ariana News, called the forced deportation of Afghan immigrants a hasty and arbitrary decision by Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Richard Bennett, the special rapporteur of the United Nations Human Rights Council for Afghanistan, in a post on X once again asked the government of Pakistan to stop deporting Afghan refugees from that country.

“I repeat my call on Pakistan to avoid yet another crisis for Afghans by cancelling their plans for mass deportations to Afghanistan. Bennett said, adding that “I am continuing to advocate for the rights of Afghans in every way possible, including with Pakistan’s authorities.”

On Tuesday, Human Rights Watch (HRW) asked Pakistan to cancel the forced return of Afghan refugees. HRW has said that the Pakistani government is forcing Afghan immigrants without legal documents to return to Afghanistan by threatening, harassing and arresting them.

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Female foreign ministers from 17 countries call on IEA to repeal laws affecting women

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Female foreign ministers from 17 countries have called on the Islamic Emirate to repeal the laws restricting women and girls in Afghanistan.

In a joint statement issued on Saturday, on the situation of women and girls in the country, the group of foreign ministers denounced the Islamic Emirate’s “morality laws”.

“We denounce and call for the repeal of the Taliban’s (IEA) so called ‘Morality Laws’, which have exacerbated existing restrictions for Afghan women and girls,” the statement read.

“These decrees aim literally to silence Afghan women and girls and confine them to their homes. There is no viable future—no long-term peace, prosperity, or legitimacy—for any state that seeks to effectively erase women from public life.”

In reaction, the Ministry for the Propagation of Virtue and the Prevention of Vice said that Western countries have a double standard on the issue of human rights and are using it as a tool to pressure the Islamic Emirate.

“If such ministry does not exist in an Islamic system or Islamic society, we cannot call it an Islamic system or Islamic society,” Saif-ul-Islam Khaibar, the ministry’s spokesman, said.

“Those who demand the abolition of this ministry are actually acting against Islamic values, religion, nation, and identity of Afghans, which is unacceptable to all. Instead of making allegations against this ministry, they should adhere to human rights in their own laws.”

In their joint statement, the female foreign ministers also said that the Islamic Emirate’s “systematic exclusion of girls from school—including by barring education for girls above sixth grade—deprives millions of women and girls of their right to education.”

“We encourage all countries to advocate for the full, equal, meaningful, and safe participation of Afghan women in discussions on Afghanistan’s future, including in the U.N.-facilitated Doha process,” the statement said.

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IEA officials on way to Japan

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A delegation of senior Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) officials was expected to arrive in Tokyo on Sunday in what is the IEA’s first visit to Japan since they regained power in August 2021.

According to Japanese media, the delegation consists of around six government officials in charge of diplomacy, healthcare, education, cultural properties and other policies.

This visit was in response to an invitation offered by an executive of the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and Tadamichi Yamamoto, former head of the UN Assistance Mission in Afghanistan (UNAMA), last year.

Reports state that the delegation will likely request more humanitarian support and may also discuss ties between Japan and Afghanistan with Japanese government officials.

Japan continues to maintain diplomatic functions in Afghanistan and has provided support for medical facilities through the United Nations.

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Ministry of Refugees condemns forced evacuation of Afghans in Balochistan, Pakistan

The statement added that among the people deported by the Pakistani police, 65 were children and 30 were Afghan women.

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The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation on Sunday condemned the forced evacuation of Afghan refugees from their homes in Balochistan province, Pakistan.

The Ministry of Refugees’ statement said that on February 15, Pakistani police raided the homes of a number of Afghan refugees in the Quetta and Kuchlak areas of Balochistan province.

The raids took place at night and officials forcibly evicted and mistreated a number of Afghan refugees.

The statement added that among the people deported by the Pakistani police, 65 were children and 30 were Afghan women.

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