Pakistan: Court starts hearing against mass deportation
In Pakistan, the Supreme Court has begun hearing several petitions against the mass deportation of Afghan refugees. This was announced by one of the petitioners on the platform X (formerly Twitter). The petitions had been submitted by activists, politicians and lawyers.
At the beginning of October, the government in Islamabad announced that it would deport refugees without residence status and set a deadline of November 1 for voluntary departure. According to government figures from October, there were around 4.4 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan at the time, around 1.7 million of whom were without valid papers.
The Supreme Court has issued notices to the caretaker government, foreign ministry and the apex committee in the first hearing of our petition against the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees. We hope for justice to prevail and for the rights of Afghan refugees to be protected. https://t.co/P8EyC4JJjl
— Mohsin Dawar (@mjdawar) December 1, 2023
According to the Human Rights Watch organization, more than 375,000 refugees have returned to Afghanistan since the announcement. The majority have left on their own under pressure from the threat of deportation, while around 20,000 have been deported.
Criticism of Pakistan
In recent weeks, activists and human rights organizations have repeatedly complained about the harsh treatment of refugees by Pakistani authorities. Authorities are said to confiscate refugees' property and demand bribes, while threats, arbitrary arrests and night-time raids are also said to occur repeatedly.
According to the information minister of the border province of Baluchistan, however, the authorities want to intensify the deportation campaign, which is taking place a few months before the parliamentary elections in February. As the minister announced at a press conference, one million unregistered refugees are expected to have left the country by January. To this end, 10,000 refugees are to be deported every day in Baluchistan alone, close to the border with Afghanistan.
- The mass deployment of refugees has sparked criticism from various organizations and individuals, citing instances of harsh treatment, property confiscation, and demands for bribes by Pakistani authorities.
- The government's decision to deport refugees without valid papers, amidst escalating conflicts in Afghanistan, has led many to migrate out of fear, adding to the global refugee crisis.
- The authorities' escalation of the deportation campaign, amidst pending court hearings and growing humanitarian concerns, has raised questions about the role of the government and international authorities in protecting the rights of refugees.
Source: www.dpa.com
