KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Pakistani police have reportedly launched house-to-house searches in Quetta, the capital of Balochistan province, targeting undocumented refugees as part of an intensified nationwide crackdown.
Multiple sources among refugees in Hazara Town, a neighborhood with a large refugee population, said the operation began on Tuesday afternoon, with police detaining individuals lacking proper documentation, including women and children. A resident of Quetta told KabulNow that at least five women were arrested from his home and that of his neighbor.
Pakistan has hosted millions of citizens of Afghanistan over the decades, offering shelter to those fleeing war, political instability, persecution, and economic hardship. However, since late 2023, the country has conducted a large scale deportation campaign, returning more than a million to impoverished and Taliban controlled Afghanistan.
The crackdown has intensified following deadly clashes last week between Pakistani forces and Taliban fighters, triggered after Pakistani airstrikes targeted locations in Kabul and Paktika provinces.
Authorities have reportedly ordered law enforcement agencies in all four provinces to step up the crackdown on undocumented Afghan refugees. Citizens have also been warned against renting homes, hotel rooms, or shops to refugees or providing them with employment.
Over the past two years, UN agencies and international rights groups have repeatedly called on Islamabad to stop forced deportations, citing concerns over human rights abuses and the deepening humanitarian crisis under Taliban rule. They warn that such returns could expose refugees—especially activists, former government officials, soldiers, women, and journalists—to harassment, persecution, and other serious dangers.
