Pakistan deports 700 Afghan refugees
Syed Ali Shah, Manan Mandokhail:
Pakistan has deported 700 Afghan refugees including women and children who had reached Quetta after the establishment of the Taliban government in Afghanistan. The refugees had entered Pakistan via the Pak-Afghan border Chaman.
Levies and police intercepted the refugees and deported them back to Afghanistan. “Dozens of Afghan refugee families had arrived Quetta district”, Khalil Murad, the Additional Deputy Commissioner said.
The refugee families had established makeshift camps at the Kuchlak and Belili area of Quetta district, he said. The refugees had no valid travel documents. “They have been deported to Afghanistan at Pak-Afghan border Chaman”, Mr. Murad said. “During last three days, we have deported 700 refugees”, an official at Pak-Afghan border Chaman told Quetta Voice. He requested anonymity.
Authorities intercepted refugees at Lasbella, Khuzdar
The authorities have also intercepted Afghan refugees in Lasbella, Khuzdar, and other districts of Balochistan. The refugees were going to Karachi when intercepted by the authorities, the Additional Deputy Commissioner said.
The authorities had also deported over 200 Afghan nationals at Badini gate with Afghanistan during the last few days. The refugees had no valid travel documents.
The refugees who entered via the Chaman border had established a makeshift camp near railway station Chaman. However, the Chaman administration had moved the refugees towards Quetta and Pishin.
Refugees were in need of support
Eyewitnesses said the refugees were in desperate need of support as they were exposed to scorching heat in the day and cold weather at night. The plight of women and children among the refugees was quite miserable, Banaras Khan, a Quetta-based famous photographer said. He said some refugees were also suffering from various diseases.
The movement of people on either side of the border had picked up in the aftermath of the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan. Trade and pedestrian movement increased at the border.
