Islamabad, March 16 – Police in Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province have arrested over 300 illegal Afghan refugees during raids in various parts of the Swabi district, local media reported on Monday.
The arrests followed a decision by the district administration and police officials to deport illegal Afghans, according to the daily Dawn, citing sources. Police had instructed Station House Officers (SHOs) to maintain records of all illegal Afghans within their police stations' jurisdictions.
According to sources, 341 Afghan refugees were arrested during raids conducted in Topi, Razaar, and Chota Lahor tehsils, as well as other parts of Swabi, on Sunday. They stated that the raids would continue, and all illegal Afghan refugees residing in Swabi would be detained and deported to Afghanistan.
Approximately 30,000 Afghan refugees still live in various parts of Swabi, with most having proper documentation, while others reside illegally. Sources revealed that these refugees were residing in the Gandaf and Gohati refugee camps, and a significant number were staying in various farms and cities, according to Dawn.
In the past few months, the district administration has been making efforts to facilitate the repatriation of Afghan refugees, according to sources. They further stated that the district administration had closed all shops in the Gohati refugee camp. However, the refugees stated that it was very difficult for them to close their businesses so quickly, as they had established them through hard work over 40 years.
Earlier in February, Afghanistan's Minister of Agriculture, Irrigation, and Livestock, Ataullah Omari, criticized neighboring countries for their policy of deporting Afghan refugees, stating that host nations had breached humanitarian principles, human rights, and refugee rights by deporting them.
He stated that more than 4.5 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan from various countries since the start of the expulsion process, according to Tolo News, an Afghan-based media outlet. "Our brothers were forcibly expelled from their homes. They were hosted for nearly 40 years, but in the end, they were deported by force and in violation of humanitarian principles."
His statement came as Pakistan and Iran continue to deport Afghan refugees, raising concerns about Afghanistan's capacity to resettle the returnees. Some Afghan refugees who have recently returned to Afghanistan stated that they were forcibly deported from host nations and were not given the opportunity to take their belongings, leaving everything behind in those countries.