ISLAMABAD — Afghan migrants in Pakistan have accused authorities of detaining individuals despite their possession of valid legal documents, including visas and passports, as Islamabad continues its crackdown on undocumented migrants.
Among those affected are women and children, according to accounts from the migrants, who say arrests have intensified in the provinces of Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Shakiba, an Afghan woman who has lived in Pakistan with her husband and three children for nearly three years, said she has been repeatedly interrogated despite holding all necessary documentation.
“Yesterday in ‘B-17,’ a large number of Afghans with visas, passports, and legal documents were taken away,” Shakiba told Amu, an Afghan news outlet. “I saw one of our neighbors, a young man with legal papers, get arrested. It is very concerning.”
Afghan migrants report that Pakistani security forces have intensified house-to-house searches, targeting Afghan communities at all hours. Fazal Saberi, a representative of Afghan migrants in Pakistan, said police have entered homes without warrants or proper justification.
“We are witnessing that Pakistani police invade the private homes of Afghan migrants day and night, at any hour, without reason or a defined procedure,” Mr. Saberi said. “They detain men and women who possess visas and deport them to Afghanistan, many of whom were under the protection of the United Nations office.”
Abdul Jabbar Takhari, the Taliban’s consul in Karachi, acknowledged the rising number of detentions and deportations in Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“There are 35 to 40 individuals in various prisons across Pakistan. We are working to secure their release,” Mr. Takhari said.
The consul added that his office is monitoring the situation and has called for greater cooperation from Pakistani authorities to address the treatment of Afghan migrants, particularly those with valid documentation.
Pakistan’s recent campaign to expel undocumented Afghans has exacerbated tensions between the two neighbors, amid an already fraught relationship. Islamabad has cited national security concerns as justification for its crackdown, claiming that some migrants have links to militant groups.
According to a report from the International Organization for Migration, more than 1.2 million Afghan migrants returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran in 2024. Many of these returnees face dire conditions upon
