Human Rights Watch said in a report that Pakistani authorities have intensified raids, arrests, and forced returns of Afghan refugees.
According to the report, police have been conducting house raids in various cities, carrying out late-night searches, and even detaining those with legal documents. The organization said that more than 146,000 Afghans have been deported from Pakistan so far in 2026.
Fereshta Abbasi, Afghanistan researcher at Human Rights Watch, said: “Pakistani authorities are spreading fear among Afghan refugees instead of protecting them, and abusive police practices are forcing people to forgo food and health care.”
The report adds that many refugees are unable to visit hospitals due to fear of arrest. An Afghan woman told the organization: “My daughter is ill, but I cannot take her to the hospital because I fear being arrested by the police.”
It also notes that among those detained are journalists who fled Afghanistan after 2021. According to the report, some families have been separated, and children have been returned to Afghanistan alone.
Human Rights Watch stressed that the forced return of Afghan refugees may violate international law, particularly the principle of non-refoulement.
