Peshawar:
Pakistan has begun to deport documented to Afghan refugees before their deadline for them to leave, according to the United Nations, to a measure that could see more than 1 million Afghans expelled from the country.
The United Nations High Commissioner said that he had received reports of arrests and expulsions from Afghan legally registered throughout the country before the deadline of September 1 of Pakistan to leave.
UNHCR said that sending Afghans in this way was a violation of Pakistan’s international obligations. “UNHCR is asking the government to stop forced return and adopt a human approach to guarantee the voluntary, gradual and worthy return of Afghans,” he said in a statement.
The voluntary return of documented refugees will begin immediately, said an order from the Ministry of Interior seen by Reuters. He said that the formal deportation process will begin after the deadline.
But Qaisar Khan Afridi, a BCL spokesman, told Reuters on Wednesday that hundreds of legally registered Afghan refugees had already been arrested and deported to Afghanistan from August 1 to 4.
The Interior Ministry did not respond to a Reuters request for a comment.
“Such a massive and hurried return could endanger the lives and freedom of Afghan refugees, while risking instability not only in Afghanistan but in the entire region,” said UNHRC.
Afghanistan has rejected accusations and has called repatriations as forced deportation. In addition to the repatriation of Pakistan, Afghanistan also faces a new wave of mass deportations in Iran. Help groups care that the influx runs the risk of further destabilizing the country.
