The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said in a statement that 15 Afghan citizens, who were imprisoned in Peshawar due to not having legal documents, have been released.
According to the ministry’s statement, these 15 individuals were imprisoned in Pakistan for two months.
The statement from the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation said: "Due to not having legal documents, they were detained for a period of 15 days to 2 months in Peshawar’s prison in Pakistan. After their release, they were repatriated via the Torkham crossing and introduced to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) for assistance, which also provided them with travel fare."
Abdul Jabbar Takhari, the consul of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi, Pakistan, said that 43 Afghan refugees are still imprisoned in Sindh province’s prisons, 13 of whom have been released, and efforts to free the remaining individuals are ongoing.
Abdul Jabbar Takhari added: "Currently, we have 43 detainees in Sindh’s prisons, two of whom are women. The release of 13 of them have been finalized by the court, and after completing some administrative processes in certain departments, they will also be returned to the homeland."
Meanwhile, some Afghan refugees in Pakistan have reported facing various challenges, including forced deportations.
"It is observed that in the last two days, even at night, Afghan refugees are being tortured and imprisoned by the Pakistani police," Zahir Bahand, an Afghan journalist in Pakistan, told TOLOnews.
"Given the political challenges between Afghanistan and Pakistan, there is a need for both countries to maintain good relations based on neighborly goodwill and, on the other hand, to create diplomatic dialogues to improve the situation of migrants," said Asifa Stanekzai, an activist for migrant rights.
Earlier, the Ministry of Refugee and Repatriation of the Islamic Emirate had said that 11,000 Afghan refugees are imprisoned in Iran and Pakistan.
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