Pakistan: Afghan Nationals Arbitrarily Detained, Ill-treated, and at Risk of Refoulement

The numbers are striking. Of those surveyed, 68.3% reported being arrested or detained; 72.4% were held without ever being brought before a judge; 58.5% reported physical abuse; 75.6% reported psychological abuse; and 85.7% of those detained reported being asked to pay bribes to secure their release.

Enforcement was not limited to undocumented individuals. People were stopped at roadside checks, at markets, and were taken during home raids, regardless of whether they carried valid documentation. Landlords were warned by police that housing Afghan tenants would bring legal consequences. Announcements were reportedly made in mosques encouraging residents to report undocumented Afghans in their communities.

"The landlord said the police had warned him. He said if Afghans stayed in the building, he would face trouble. We had lived there for years. We were given three days. My children cried because they did not know where we would go."

"I told them I was registered. They said it does not matter anymore. They said, 'You are Afghan, you must go.' They kept us there for hours and told us if we wanted to avoid problems, we should pay. Even with documents, we were not safe."

Some of those arrested were transferred to Haji camps. These are large holding facilities where families were separated, phones confiscated, and detainees counted and processed for deportation with no legal explanation and no access to lawyers. Conditions were described as deeply degrading.

"There were 17 people in one room. Two of us had to share one thin mattress. Some slept on the floor without anything. At night, there was no space to stretch your legs."

"We were kept in a large hall. People were everywhere. Families were separated. Children were crying. There was no privacy. It felt like we were animals waiting to be transported."

Those who complained about conditions risked physical retaliation. One interviewee described being beaten with sticks by officers after raising concerns, and being unable to stand properly for days. No medical care was provided. No incident was recorded.

The report highlights the lack of individualized risk assessments, a requirement under the UN Convention against Torture to which Pakistan. Human Rights Defenders, journalists and media workers, people whose names, faces, and reporting are publicly known, were sent back to Afghanistan without any assessment of the risks they faced upon return. Given well-documented patterns of retaliation against journalists under Taliban rule, these returns raise grave concerns under the prohibition of refoulement.

"They told us we would be sent back the next day. I told them I had worked in media. I told them my name was known. They said, 'That is not our problem.' They put us on buses. There was no hearing. No interview. Nothing."

Pakistan's official position is that over 600,000 Afghans returned voluntarily. The testimonies collected tell a different story: "They said if we signed and agreed to leave, we could go quickly. Otherwise we would stay in detention longer. So we signed."

OMCT and AMSO call on Pakistan to:

• Ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention Against Torture (OPCAT) and establish an independent National Preventive Mechanism empowered to conduct unannounced visits to all detention facilities, including Haji camps;
• Reform the Foreigners Act 1946 to incorporate explicit safeguards against arbitrary detention and coercive deportation, and in the longer term adopt a comprehensive refugee and migration law;
• Conduct individualized risk assessments before any deportation, with specific screening for journalists, media workers, human rights defenders, women at risk, and individuals previously affiliated with international organizations
• Guarantee access to legal counsel, medical examination, and family notification from the moment of arrest
• Ensure judicial review of detention no later than 48 hours after arrest
• End nationality-based profiling and ensure all arrests are based on individualized legal grounds
• Ensure detention conditions comply with the UN Standard Minimum Rules for the Treatment of Prisoners (Nelson Mandela Rules)
• Grant the National Commission for Human Rights full and independent access to immigration detention facilities and empower it to publish its findings
• Investigate all allegations of torture, ill-treatment, and extortion promptly and impartially, and ensure victims have access to effective remedies and rehabilitation