INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sardar Ahmed Shakib, head of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad, met Philippa Candler, Representative of the United Nations High Commissioner
for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad this week and expressed concern over the detention of Afghan migrants in Islamabad and Rawalpindi.The
embassy in Islamabad stated in a statement that Shakib emphasized that migrants who have legal documents ought to be supported and not
arrested.He included that in some circumstances they are forced to pay allurements and large amounts of money.Philippa Candler on the other
hand stated that she had actually gotten complaints about the mistreatment of Afghan migrants by the Pakistani cops and added that she will
discuss this matter with the Pakistani authorities in the coming days.The meeting comes in the middle of ongoing reports of arbitrary
detention and harassment of Afghan refugees and asylum candidates by law enforcement agencies in Islamabad in Pakistan.Babu Ram Pant, Deputy
Regional Director for South Asia at Amnesty International, stated recently this action by Pakistan became part of a big discriminatory
policy versus Afghans inside the nation.&& The police night raids, harassment and arbitrary detention of hundreds of Afghan refugees,
consisting of ladies and kids, in the capital city belongs to a larger discriminatory policy versus Afghans inside the country.Amnesty
International specified that the Pakistani federal government has consistently and arbitrarily enacted policies increasing the precarity of
Afghan refugees inside the country & hellip; and this most recent policy procedure has actually threatened an already at-risk
population.Pant said: && The Pakistani authorities& & actions are sweeping and discretionary in nature and have led to the harassment and
detention of refugees even when in belongings of valid files and visas.&& All refugees and asylum seekers, no matter documentation status,
have the right to due process and defense versus forced return in global human rights law.&& Amnesty International urges Pakistan to abide
by its responsibilities under global law, including the concept of non-refoulement, by taking immediate steps to ensure the release of all
those apprehended and revoking the policy of obtaining an NOC at once.&& The post Afghan envoy fulfills UNHCR authorities in Islamabad,
discusses mistreatment of migrants first appeared on Ariana News.
