The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations has reported that nearly 4,000 Afghan citizens are imprisoned in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia.

Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, spokesperson for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations, stated that Afghan citizens have been arrested for various offenses in these countries, and efforts are ongoing to secure their release and transfer their cases to Afghanistan.

“In Arab countries, we have approximately 4,000 prisoners detained on various charges. The Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan is striving to free these migrants and transfer their files to Afghanistan. Similarly, we have held meetings with Iranian authorities from time to time and managed to transfer 4,000 prisoners to Afghanistan,” the spokesperson said. 

In addition to Afghan migrants in Arab countries, several Afghans are currently incarcerated in prisons in neighboring countries, and efforts have also been made to transfer these prisoners back to Afghanistan.

Furthermore, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriations announced that in the past year, 5,700 Afghan migrants were released and repatriated from countries such as Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey.

“The government has obligations, and one of its important duties is to defend the rights of its citizens abroad. It must provide all necessary conditions, such as legal representation. We have embassies, and they should perform this duty,” said Yousuf Amin Zazi, a political analyst.

“Diplomatic negotiations between countries should take place, and at the same time, the Ministry of Refugees and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs should make decisions in this regard so that prisoners are released and handed over to Afghanistan,” said Hadi Qureshi, a military affairs expert.

Previously, the Islamic Emirate’s consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, reported that over 4,000 Afghans had been released from Pakistani prisons in the past two years.