The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) reacted to the mistreatment of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan and called on Islamabad to avoid such misconduct and to remain respectful of the rights of refugees.

A video, which went viral on social media, shows several Afghan refugees detained and tied with a rope in Karachi, Pakistan.

“The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Islamic Emirate condemns the disturbing of our citizens and calls on the Pakistani government to avoid the repeat of such actions,” said Zia Ahmad Takal, deputy spokesman for MoFA.

The detainees said in the video that the Pakistani police took their pocket money and cell phones.

“The Pakistani police took my money and my cell phone,” said an Afghan refugee in Pakistan.

Analysts believe that Islamabad is using the presence of Afghan refugees as a tool to pressure the caretaker government of Afghanistan to accept its wishes.

“When the government of Pakistan sits in talks with the Islamic Emirate, and does not reach an agreement, then Pakistan has leverage with Afghan refugees who are living in Pakistan and will beat them, disturb them and deport them” said Mohammad Rahimi, a university instructor.

According to UNHCR, around 1.3 million Afghans are living in Pakistan.

“They should allow them at first to come to Pakistan. They can live in their country in any condition but when they come here, they are facing a lot of problems,” said Abubakar Sulaiman Khail, a member of the Pashtoon Tahfuz Movement (PTM).

Earlier, the Afghanistan Embassy in Pakistan said that more 1,250 Afghan refugees have been detained within the past 40 days by Pakistani police.