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The Charge d'Affaires of the US Mission to Afghanistan, Karen Decker visited Pakistan as part of her "listening tour" to discuss the situation of Afghan refugees, Khaama Press reported on Tuesday.
The US official will be taking a look at the plight of Afghan refugees in Pakistan as well as the organizations and individuals working to support Afghans and Afghanistan in Islamabad, Khaama Press cited Decker's tweets. The US official is making a visit to Pakistan after 30 'long' years after reports of Afghan women and children detained and imprisoned in Pakistani jails. Earlier former president of Afghanistan, Hamid Karzai had also attacked Pakistan for 'mistreating' the Afghan refugees who crossed the border after the Taliban took over the country. Karzai expressed his concerns over the mistreatment of the refugees by the Pakistan government. He also urged the Pakistan administration to treat the refugees as per international laws and human rights values. As per media reports over 1100 Afghan refugees including women and children have been arrested and imprisoned in the Sindh state of Pakistan, Hamid Karzai tweeted. As per Khaama Press, the US official's visit to Pakistan is being hailed by social media users, particularly the Afghan refugees who are waiting to be resettled to the US, and those eligible under the US's P1/P2 program. Earlier on Tuesday, Taliban-run Afghan Consulate in Karachi, Pakistan, said that 30 undocumented Afghan migrants who had been incarcerated in Pakistani prisons had been released and deported to Afghanistan, Khaama Press reported. Khaama Press, citing its monitoring desk, said that thousands of Afghans cross Turkham and Spin Boldak borders daily and most do so without holding valid entry permits and visas. The Afghan immigrants in Pakistan do not hold any legal status as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees has not yet started registering the immigrants. One of the main reasons behind the rising number of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan is the political instability and economic crisis in Afghanistan reported Khaama Press. Since its ascent to power in Kabul, the Islamic group imposed policies severely restricting basic rights--particularly those of women and girls. According to Human Rights Watch (HRW), the Taliban dismissed all women from leadership posts in the civil service and prohibited girls in most provinces from attending secondary school. Armed groups linked to the Afghan branch of the Islamic State have carried out bombings targeting ethnic Hazaras, Afghan Shias, Sufis, and others, killing and injuring hundreds. (ANI)
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