Concerns over the arrest of documented Afghan refugees in Pakistan have recently escalated.

Abdul Jabbar Takhari, the consul of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi, told TOLOnews that Pakistani police are arresting migrants who possess the Afghan Citizen Card (ACC).

According to Abdul Jabbar Takhari, recently 15 Afghan migrants who had ACC cards were arrested by the Pakistani police.

"We wrote a letter stating that Afghans who have an Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) should not be harassed or bothered. If the Pakistani government has made a decisive decision, it should be through bilateral consultation,” he said. 

Several Afghan migrants in Pakistan have also said that despite having ACCs, they are still being arrested by the Pakistani police. This comes as Pakistan has announced a new wave of deportations.

"The forced deportation of more than 800,000 people is nothing short of a crisis for the nation and the government. Immediate action must be taken to collaborate with the UNHCR and the host country to approve a feasible and positive proposal,” said Atiqullah, an advocate for Afghan migrants in Pakistan.

“"The deportation of Afghan migrants from Pakistan is against international conventions. The current Afghan government should initiate negotiations with Pakistan and the United Nations regarding its migrants,” said Mohammad Khan Talibi, Refugees rights activist.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said that nearly 700,000 documented Afghan refugees are at risk of deportation from Pakistan.

"In Pakistan, we have about 690,000 migrants who possess ACC cards. Since the Pakistani government announced the second phase of deportations, no one has been specifically detained; however, previously we had around 3,500 prisoners,” said Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation 

In the first phase of the expulsion of Afghan migrants from Pakistan, about 600,000 migrants were expelled, and the second phase of expulsions of Afghan migrants is set to begin on April 15.