Kabul, Dec 1 More than 4000 Afghan refugees have been forcibly repatriated from Pakistan and Iran in a single day, the Afghan media quoted a top Taliban official as saying on Monday.
While sharing the High Commission for Addressing Migrants’ Issues report on X, Taliban Deputy Spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat stated that 1,053 families, comprising 4,834 people, returned to Afghanistan on Sunday, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.
Afghan refugees entered Afghanistan through Torkham crossing in Nangarhar, Islam Qala crossing in Herat, Pul-i-Abresham in Nimroz, Spin Boldak in Kandahar, and Bahramcha in Helmand.
Fitrat stated that 1,160 families which comprised 6,566 people were taken to their respective areas while 780 families were provided humanitarian assistance. In addition, 827 SIM cards were given to Afghan refugees who returned to Afghanistan.
Hamdullah Fitrat stated that 1,188 families, comprising 6,553 people, were forcibly repatriated to Afghanistan from Pakistan and Iran on Saturday.
Last week, several Afghan migrants and women activists were beaten and detained after Islamabad police conducted overnight raids in Pakistani capital's Argentina Park, Afghan media reported.
Police surrounded the park without prior notice during night and swept through tents set up by about 200 Afghan families and activists who had been living there for around four months and removed them using physical force, Afghan media outlet Amu TV reported citing sources.
In a video message, one migrant said, "They came, gathered everyone, dismantled all tents and loaded us into vehicles. Some children are injured. We don’t know where they’re taking us."
Another activist, with wounds on her eye and forehead, said she was beaten by police. "I am here for rights of women, for human rights. Because I am Afghan. Because I am a woman," Amu TV quoted her as saying.
The Afghan refugees and the activists said that police threatened to forcibly relocate around 400 vulnerable families to Afghanistan, sparking concerns among rights groups that the actions breach international standards for refugee protection.
Activists have urged international human rights groups and media to raise their voice for Afghan migrants, warning that continued silence over the issue "means abandoning people whose only weapon is the cry for justice."
Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor