Amnesty calls on Pakistan to halt forced deportation of Afghan Refugees
Amnesty International urges Pakistan to stop deporting Afghan refugees, renew PoR cards, and uphold international laws protecting those seeking safety.
Amnesty International on Friday called on Pakistan to immediately stop deporting Afghan refugees and extend their Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. The call was made on World Refugee Day as part of an appeal to respect international law.
The human rights group stated that Pakistan has forcibly returned over 1,080,312 Afghan refugees since October 2023. Amnesty emphasized that such deportations violate the international legal principle of non-refoulement, which protects refugees from being returned to unsafe countries.
According to Amnesty, around 1.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan hold PoR cards, which will expire in the next ten days. Amnesty urged the Pakistani government to renew these cards immediately to prevent further insecurity and displacement.
Amnesty warned that PoR holders face serious risks if forced to return to Afghanistan. The organization cited credible reports indicating they could face extrajudicial killings, torture, and gender-based persecution upon repatriation.
Amnesty’s report also raised concerns over the psychological and social stress experienced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan due to prolonged uncertainty. The group highlighted the need for international cooperation to resolve this humanitarian crisis.
With the Afghan refugee crisis still unfolding, Pakistan faces mounting pressure from the international community to honor its commitments to refugee protection. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has similarly urged Islamabad to allow more time for refugees to secure their legal status and safety.
Experts say that unless Pakistan extends PoR cards and halts deportations, vulnerable refugees will continue to face life-threatening dangers.
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