More than 100 Afghan nationals have been released from prisons in Pakistan and returned to Afghanistan, the Taliban-run Ministry of Refugees said in a statement on Tuesday.
The group of 101 individuals reportedly spent two to five days in detention before being deported to Afghanistan on Monday, April 8, according to the ministry.
The development comes amid Pakistan’s ongoing crackdown on Afghan migrants, as the country intensifies the second phase of its mass deportation campaign. Over the past week, dozens of Afghan nationals have reportedly been arrested across various provinces, including Sindh, Punjab, and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Taliban authorities condemned the treatment of Afghan detainees, accusing Pakistani police of confiscating migrants’ belongings during deportations. In its statement, the refugee ministry described the alleged seizures as “inhumane, un-Islamic, and in violation of international law.”
Pakistani officials have previously linked the presence of Afghan migrants to rising security threats, including activities by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), an outlawed militant group. Islamabad has repeatedly accused the Taliban of harboring TTP fighters within Afghanistan—a charge Taliban leaders deny. Migrants, observers say, are increasingly caught in the crossfire of the two governments’ escalating tensions.
