ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistani authorities have arrested at least 190 Afghan migrants in Islamabad, as part of an ongoing crackdown on undocumented residents, according to a civil society group monitoring the detentions.
The Joint Action Committee for Refugees said on Thursday that a “widespread crackdown” is underway in Islamabad and Rawalpindi, where large numbers of Afghan migrants—regardless of their legal status—have been detained by police.
The committee stated that police are detaining Afghan refugees without due process, including those with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, Afghan Citizen Cards, or valid visas.
“Many police stations have held Afghan migrants without legal proceedings,” the group said, adding that about 190 detainees are currently being held at Haji Camp detention center in Islamabad.
The rights group called the arrests a violation of a recent ruling by the Islamabad High Court, which earlier this week prohibited the harassment of Afghan migrants and instructed authorities to follow legal procedures.
The latest detentions follow high-level meetings chaired by Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, where officials were directed to relocate registered Afghan migrants from Islamabad and Rawalpindi and gradually return them to Afghanistan.
A police official, speaking anonymously, claimed that police had no role in the arrests and were only guarding the Haji Camp detention center.
“Those detained by the local administration are brought here before being sent to the border for deportation,” the official said.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 18,000 Afghans were deported from Islamabad and Rawalpindi in January 2025. Deportations reportedly increased in the second half of the month.
Pakistan has intensified its expulsions of undocumented Afghan migrants since October 2023, a move that has drawn criticism from human rights groups and calls for restraint from international organizations.
