Scores of Afghan refugees have recently been reported to have been arrested and taken to jails by Pakistan police in the neighboring country’s Sindh state. Reports quoting the General Consulate of Afghanistan based in Karachi of Pakistan said that 450 Afghan immigrants have been arrested and jailed over the past few days by the security officials. The Afghan consulate office confirmed that the process of arresting and detaining the Afghan refugees, has been intensified by the Pakistani security officials and that every day they arrest a rough number of innocent Afghans, including women and children and imprison them. This is not a fresh incident and what happened wrong with the miserable Afghans in the hosting countries, particularly Pakistan, Iran and Turkiye, the Afghan refugees have long suffered from mistreatment and torture from these countries. Even Afghans with valid documents are also arrested and put in jails, but released after paying money; an atrocious act never seen under legal systems. Such a treatment has not been still experienced in other countries, when an immigrant, holding legal documents are arrested and imprisoned. They are not only arresting Afghan refugees illegally, but are also frequently closing borders with Afghanistan that cause huge losses for the two countries traders and helping hike of prices, mostly edible items. Pakistani officials have long been seeking excuse in their attempt to arrest Afghan refugees and hugely using the issue as a political tool for their decision to torture innocent Afghans. Arresting and jailing immigrants is not the way of solution and this method can never address problems but increase misunderstanding between the two nations. The best way to fight insecurity and migration problem is to set a law under which, migration problem could be addressed, if Pakistan or any other hosting countries, really want to permanently tackle similar challenges. The Islamic Emirate should also enter a resolute dialogue with the hosting countries and legalize the issue of immigration rather to resort to the arrest and detention of refugees, otherwise, such arbitrary and illegal arrest of the Afghans would affect relations between the incumbent Afghan government and other countries, including the neighbors. So, there is a need for wise management of the issue and the countries with high number of refugees have to respect migration standards and set a framework within which both their national interest and the issue of human rights and the rights of migration could be ensured.
F.Akhgar
