Refugee Rights Watch Global condemned what it calls “violent treatment” of Afghan migrants and civil‑society activists by Pakistani police in Islamabad’s Argentina Park, warning that the actions put vulnerable families at serious risk.
In a statement, the group said many of the migrants—including women, children and elderly people—had lived under tents in the park for over three months and have no alternative shelter or protection.
The organization called on the United Nations, the Pakistani government, and global human‑rights and migration agencies to immediately halt all forced detentions and deportations of Afghan migrants. It urged authorities to guarantee the safety, dignity and well‑being of the affected families and to provide urgent humanitarian aid as well as a transparent protection process.
“These families fled severe hardship seeking safety and stability,” the statement said, urging that their fundamental rights be respected and protected.
Earlier accounts from local sources reported that police raided the park around 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday without warning, surrounding the area and allegedly beating women, children and male migrants. The migrants had reportedly been protesting harsh conditions under Taliban rule and had been living in the park for months.
Some human‑rights activists estimate that as many as 400 vulnerable families may face forced return to Afghanistan — a move they say violates international standards for refugee protection and poses a grave threat to the security and lives of those involved.
