Afghan Students Face Police Harassment, Deportation Fears in Pakistan

Many Afghan students, pursuing their studies in Pakistan, are faced with an uncertain future, as the Shehbaz Sharif government suspended their visa extensions last year, and instead of giving any relief, the state-run agencies have mounted pressure on them, leaving them anxious and panicky about their future.

Many claimed that police excesses have become so widespread that asylum seekers were avoiding hospitals and health centres, even if they are sick.

Hasht-e Subh, a leading portal, shared the plight of many students who shared their consternation over the alarming situation.

Muhammad, an asylum seeker, said, "We cannot even step outside our homes. Bread that should cost no more than 20 Pakistani rupees sometimes costs us up to 100,000 rupees. When we go out to buy food, the police wait for us, arrest us, and demand money. If we do not pay, they deport us."

A woman, Zarafshan, said, "Police come in the middle of the night, break down doors, and storm into asylum seekers' homes. They arrest everyone they find, women, children, the elderly, and the young."

A student named Mudabir said, "If my visa is not extended, six semesters of study will be wasted. Even staying here means I cannot leave my room. Our situation is desperate, and no one hears the voices of students."

Recently, the leading international rights group Amnesty International wrote an open letter to Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, calling for an end to illegal arrests, harassment, and deportation of asylum seekers from Afghanistan.

Dubbing the incident an illegal and inhuman act, it said that the detainees are transferred to detention centres where they have little or no access to lawyers or family members.

According to the organisation, the asylum seekers enjoy no immunity or safety protocol under the international protection standard.

- IANS