Govt must stop ignoring global calls to halt unlawful deportation of Afghan refugees: AI
ISLAMABAD, (NNI): The Amnesty International on Thursday urged the Pakistan government to stop ‘unlawful’ deportation of Afghan refugees from the country.
This was stated by the Amnesty in a press release while reacting to the announcement by the newly elected government of Pakistan to expand and expedite its plans to unlawfully deport Afghan refugees in the country after the festival of Eid-ul-Fitr next week.
James Jennion, Campaigner for the Refugee and Migrants' Rights at Amnesty International said, "The Pakistan authorities' callous disregard for the persecution, serious human rights violations and humanitarian catastrophe that await Afghan refugees if deported to Taliban-controlled Afghanistan is heart-breaking. Instead of heeding repeated global calls to halt deportations, the newly elected Pakistani government has disappointingly now extended the deportation drive to Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders as well.”
James Jennion further said that the decision endangers the lives of over 800,000 Afghan refugees across Pakistan and threatens to unleash another wave of harassment and detentions after the holy month of Ramadan.
"Pakistan's 'Illegal Foreigners' Repatriation Plan' is in violation of refugee and international human rights law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement, and puts at risk the lives of all Afghan refugees, particularly women, girls, journalists, human rights defenders, women protestors, artists, and former Afghan government and security officials.
The Government's decision also lacks transparency and arbitrarily cancels the validity of the ACC documentation that was issued by the Government of Pakistan itself,” the AI statement said.
It said: "We call on the Pakistani authorities to immediately reverse these decisions and urgently pass human rights-compliant law protecting the rights of refugees in the country and become a state party to the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees along with its Protocols."