350 Afghan Detainees Returned from Pakistan via Torkham

Over the past 24 hours, 350 Afghan prisoners including women and children have been released from Pakistani prisons and handed over to Afghan authorities through the Torkham crossing.

Officials in Nangarhar said the individuals had been arrested in cities such as Punjab and Islamabad. Some reportedly held valid immigration documents yet were detained and imprisoned by Pakistani police.

Bakht Jamal Gawhar, head of migrant transfer at Torkham, said: “In the past 24 hours, 350 Afghan detainees were handed over to us. Among them were children, women, and the elderly. Some have family members still in Pakistan. Most deportees even had legal documents.”

Meanwhile, several recently released detainees complained about mistreatment by Pakistani authorities.

Abdul Salam, deported from Pakistan, said: “They took my money and my phone. I had a business, accounts, and a warehouse. Everything was left behind. My family is still in Pakistan and now I’m here alone.”

Another deportee, Abdullah, said: “They also took my money. I was kept in jail for six days and then deported to Afghanistan. The treatment was awful. I suffered a lot.”

Statelessness, the hardships of migration, bitter experiences, and returning home without family, these are only some of the stories faced by thousands of Afghan detainees in Pakistan.

Ebadullah, a 25-year-old who had lived in Pakistan for 12 years, was suddenly arrested at work and deported to Afghanistan while his family remains unaware of his whereabouts.

“They took us to the police station where we stayed for two nights. My family still doesn’t know where I am. Then they moved us to Haji Camp jail for a day. Now I’ve been transferred to Torkham,” he said.

According to the High Commission for Refugee Affairs, 3,467 individuals were repatriated from Iran and 461 from Pakistan just yesterday.