US urges Pakistan to fulfill obligations towards Afghan refugees

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.