WORLD NEWS | Pakistani prison releases 26 Afghan detainees

kabul [Afghanistan]March 17 (ANI): At least 26 Afghan detainees have been released from Pakistani prisons and returned home, the Afghan Refugee and Repatriation Unit said, Khaama Press reported.

The detainees were taken from Pakistani prisons through the Spin Boldak crossing. The Afghan Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said Wednesday that women and children were being held in Sindh province for lack of residence documents. They were among the detainees released.

Read also | Pakistan economic crisis: Bank of China refinances $500m loan for cash-strapped country.

Over the past few months, hundreds of undocumented Afghan nationals, including women and children, have been held in Pakistani prisons, including in Karachi and Sindh provinces, facing fierce criticism from national and international entities.

These groups, notably the Pakistan Human Rights Commission and UNHCR, urged the Pakistani government to treat Afghan citizens with dignity, Khaama Press reported.

Read also | UNITED STATES: Sikh allegedly denied entry to NBA game in California for carrying ‘Kirpan’.

Earlier this month, 137 Afghan citizens were released from Karachi prison and returned home.

Earlier, in the early weeks of March, Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) arrested five Afghan citizens from Peshawar airport during the immigration process. The arrested Afghan citizens were all about to board an international flight to London with fake Afghan passports.

Those arrested have been handed over to the anti-trafficking unit for further investigation, Khaama Press reported.

The Afghan consulate in Karachi said in January that at least three Afghan refugees had died in Pakistani prisons in the past three months, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

This is because Afghan refugees in Pakistan have complained about mistreatment by the country’s police. Pajhwok Afghan News recently reported that Pakistani troops tortured and harassed Afghans passing through the Spin Boldak-Chaman Gate.

The Spin Boldak-Chaman Gate, also known as The Friendship Gate, is located on the Durand Line (Pak-Afghan border).

Passengers bound for Pakistan say the Pakistani army misbehaved them, keeping them waiting for hours and blackmailing them under various pretexts.

More than 20,000 people cross the Spin Boldak-Chaman border between the Afghanistan and Pakistan borders every day for trade, medical and other purposes. (Arnie)

(This is an unedited and auto-generated story from a Syndicated News feed, the content body may not have been modified or edited by LatestLY staff)