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Islamabad [Pakistan]Jan 1 (ANI): Pakistani police have detained at least 1,200 Afghan migrants, including women and children, who entered the southern port city of Karachi without proper papers, The Diplomat magazine reported.
The arrests drew condemnation from Afghan and United Nations agencies after images of the detained Afghan children circulated online. The Washington-based magazine, citing officials, said the detentions underscored tensions between the two South Asian neighbors.
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Police and local government officials said the detainees would be deported to Afghanistan after serving their sentences or completing release papers. Most of the detainees want to go home, local officials said.
On Thursday, the United Nations refugee agency issued a warning about images and reports of arrests and detentions of Afghan refugees.
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“UNHCR is very concerned about images and reports of arrests and detentions of Afghan @refugees in Sindh, especially Karachi. Children and families should not be locked up in jail, regardless of their status,” UNHCR (UNHCR) Pakistan delegation said on Twitter.
On Friday, Sindh Minister Sharjeel Memon said 129 Afghan women illegal immigrants were being held, including 178 children, but insisted that minors were not arrested, Dawn newspaper reported.
Speaking at a news conference in Karachi, the leader of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) said 178 children “are in prison with their mothers and have not been arrested”. “The law states that any child under the age of seven can be allowed to go to prison with their mother,” Dawn newspaper quoted him as saying.
The Pakistani response came after a photo of a child being held behind bars went viral on social media, prompting a backlash from rights groups.
The UN refugee agency said people should not be punished or criminalized for exercising their basic human rights to seek asylum. It also urged Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to continue protecting those seeking safety.
“The (UN) refugee agency has globally called on countries to suspend the forced repatriation of Afghan nationals and former permanent residents of Afghanistan until the security, rule of law and human rights conditions in Afghanistan have significantly improved,” the committee said.
“In this regard, UNHCR’s guidance note on the international protection needs of persons fleeing Afghanistan emphasizes the importance of keeping civilians fleeing Afghanistan safe and ensuring that the principle of non-refoulement is always respected,” it added. (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)
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