Pakistan should respect refugee rights and stop arresting Afghan refugees: Taliban

Kabul: Taliban has said that the problems faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan are rising and stressed that Pakistani government should respect refugee rights and stop arresting and harassing Afghan migrants, local media reported on Sunday.

“Unfortunately, problems faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan are increasing, with arrests, harassment, and mistreatment by Pakistani officials on the rise, leaving refugees in serious difficulty,” Pajhwok Afghan News quoted Taliban deputy spokesperson Hamdullah Fitrat as saying in an audio message.

Fitrat urged United Nations and other relevant organisations to uphold refugee protection principles and intervene in nations where refugee rights are breached.

He also said that Afghan refugees return to Afghanistan needs economic cooperation and support.

He emphasised that Pakistani government should be forced to respect refugee rights, follow international refugee principles and stop arresting and harassing Afghan refugees, Pajhwok Afghan News reported.

On Saturday, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said that arrests and detentions of Afghan nationals in Pakistan increased by 18 per cent in the first 10 days of January 2026 in comparison to the previous week.

According to the report, majority of the arrests were reported in Pishin, Chaghi and Islamabad.

Earlier on Thursday, a leading Afghan media watchdog has expressed deep concern over the repeated arrest of Afghan journalists in Pakistan and demanded immediate release of three detained reporters.

In a statement on Thursday, Afghanistan Media Support Organisation (AMSO) said that two journalists were arrested in Islamabad while another was arrested in Peshawar, Afghanistan’s leading news agency Khaama Press reported. The names of journalists who have been arrested in Pakistan are — Abdulrahman Mangal, Asma Mohammadi and Samim Naimi.

The organisation said that the arrest of Afghan journalists in Pakistan, many of whom face deportation, puts their lives at risk, especially if they are forced to return to Afghanistan.

The group termed the arrests a clear violation of freedom of expression, journalistic principles and human rights and urged Pakistani police to stop the harassment, arrest and forced deportation of Afghan journalists.

The AMSO also urged United Nations and other international organisations to intervene in the matter.

Pakistan has repatriated thousands of Afghan migrants over the past year as part of a nationwide crackdown, with journalists and human rights activists being among those impacted. Many Afghan journalists fled to Pakistan as they faced threats and restrictions on independent media activity after Taliban seized power in 2021.

IANS