KABUL, AFGHANISTAN – Human Rights Watch says that the government of Pakistan has intensified arbitrary arrests and forced deportations of Afghan migrants following recent clashes with the Taliban.
In a statement released today (Wednesday, April 22), the organization said that police operations targeting Afghan migrants have caused thousands of vulnerable refugees, including children, to face serious barriers in accessing healthcare, education, and other essential services.
Fereshta Abbasi, a researcher on Afghanistan at Human Rights Watch, said: “Pakistani authorities are spreading fear among Afghan refugees instead of treating them as people in need of protection.”
She added: “Abusive police practices are forcing people to forgo food and health care while mass deportations are returning refugees to possible persecution and worse in Afghanistan.”
Human Rights Watch said that since the escalation of clashes between the Taliban and Pakistan in February 2026, police in that country have expanded operations against Afghan communities in several cities, carrying out house-to-house raids, nighttime searches, and arrests without judicial warrants.
The organization added that police have detained both Afghans with valid visas and those without documentation.
According to Human Rights Watch, many Afghan refugees lack documents because the Pakistani government has halted the renewal of “Proof of Registration” cards and other residency documents for Afghan refugees since 2023.
Human Rights Watch said that police usually transfer detained refugees to holding centers before deporting them.
An Afghan refugee who had been forcibly returned said that she and her family had been arrested at their house: “We begged them not to deport us, but they didn’t listen. In Haji camp in Islamabad only people who could afford to pay were released, and we were deported back to Afghanistan, where we live in hiding.”
The statement noted that in 2026 alone, more than 146,000 Afghan nationals have been deported from Pakistan, and this number has increased since the beginning of April this year.
Human Rights Watch also interviewed a number of Afghan refugees and representatives of several aid organizations.
They told the organization that Pakistani police have detained Afghan refugees while they were shopping, going to school, or seeking daily work, confiscated their phones and cash, and demanded bribes in exchange for their release.
Interviewees also said that those who were unable to pay bribes to Pakistani police were detained and deported.
Human Rights Watch wrote that many of these individuals face serious risks if returned to Afghanistan, including journalists, human rights defenders, activists, former government employees, and individuals critical of the Taliban.
The organization said that forced returns and deportations of Afghan refugees by Pakistan may violate the country’s obligations as a member of the United Nations Convention Against Torture, as well as the principle of “non-refoulement,” which prohibits returning individuals to a place where they face a real risk of persecution, torture, or threats to their lives.
Fereshta Abbasi said: “Pakistan should take action against abusive police practices and immediately stop forcibly returning Afghan refugees.”
She added: “Other governments should raise their concerns about these practices with the Pakistani government, as well as denouncing continuing human rights violations by Afghanistan.”
Following nearly two months of clashes with the Taliban, Pakistan has opened its borders with Afghanistan only for the return of deported migrants.
In recent weeks, the country has increased deportations of Afghan migrants, and according to Taliban figures, more than six thousand migrants are being deported daily.
This situation has raised growing international concern, as humanitarian organizations warn that continued forced returns without proper protection measures could deepen the vulnerability of Afghan refugees and further strain already fragile conditions inside Afghanistan.
