The plight of Afghan migrants in various cities of Pakistan has intensified following the recent terrorist attack in the province of Balochistan.
The attack, which killed 12 Pakistani security personnel, was carried out by three Afghan citizens. In the wake of the attack, Pakistani police have increased their harassment and mistreatment of Afghans, conducting house searches and even imprisoning Afghan migrants in some cities, especially Islamabad.
One anonymous source from the F-17 area of Islamabad told the Kawsar news agency that the police had come to his home twice for interrogation. The first time, they conducted the interrogation respectfully. However, the second time, they arrived at midnight and knocked on his gates very rudely. They turned everything upside down, including his bags and bedding.
The source said that he and his mother, who were the only ones home at the time, were extremely frightened. “It was a terrifying experience as if they thought we were suicide bombers or something, coming to arrest us,” he said.
The source also revealed that the police confiscated his smartphones, but they were returned a few days later.
I spoke with some other victims of these events, and they also recounted inappropriate and brutal treatment during the house-to-house interrogations of Afghan migrants by the police.
These actions against migrants indicate that Pakistan’s migration policies towards Afghan migrants have changed after the killing of three Afghan attackers in the incident in Balochistan. They now consider every Afghan migrant as a potential suicide bomber or explosive carrier, leading to increased suffering, harassment, and mistreatment of Afghan migrants.
