Pakistani authorities on Tuesday detained at least five Afghan nationals in Islamabad, including a media worker, as part of an ongoing crackdown on undocumented migrants, according to local sources.
The detainees were taken to the Haji Camp facility, which serves as a temporary holding center for migrants awaiting deportation, sources told Amu.
The arrests come amid an intensification of Pakistan’s deportation campaign, which resumed in April and has resulted in the expulsion of more than 200,000 Afghans in recent months. Islamabad has justified the campaign as an effort to remove individuals residing in the country without legal documentation.
However, human rights organizations have expressed concern over the expulsions, warning that many returnees lack safe conditions in Taliban-controlled Afghanistan.
Pakistani officials have not publicly disclosed the identities of those detained or the specific reasons for Tuesday’s arrests.
In recent months, there have been multiple reports of Afghan journalists and civil society activists being detained in Pakistan. Many had fled Afghanistan due to political persecution and security threats under the Taliban, leaving them with limited avenues for legal protection abroad.
Rights groups have urged Pakistan to provide safeguards for vulnerable individuals, particularly those seeking asylum or awaiting resettlement to third countries.
