Low-income Afghans bear brunt of repatriation crackdown

300 Afghans are being detained and deported from Karachi each week following the expiration of the deadline

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Just like in other cities, operations against Afghan nationals are currently ongoing in Karachi as well however, a common complaint surfacing in the port city revolves around the partial treatment of the local police, who are detaining and deporting low-income Afghans while turning a blind eye to those holding wealth and influence.

Abdul Rehman and Mohammad Khan, relatives of an Afghan family, who were apprehended from different areas of the city and brought to the Keamari camp, told The Express Tribune that their relatives were poor people, who relied on daily wages to feed their children. "The authorities caught them working near Sohrab Goth, and at that time they did not even have money for food. The police avoid arresting wealthy or business-owning Afghans and instead detain poor individuals just to fulfil their deportation quotas," claimed the two locals.

Similarly, Mohammad Tahir, another Afghan, who runs a hotel in the Sohrab Goth area of Karachi, revealed that he hailed from a village in the Kunduz province of Afghanistan and had settled in the port city 35 years ago. Tahir now has six children, three sons and three daughters, all of whom were born, raised and married off in Karachi. "Like my children, most Afghan children living in Karachi were born here and have never even been to Afghanistan. How could they be forced to live in a country they have never even seen? Many Afghan Pashtuns living in Karachi have married their children into local Pashtun families, making it impossible for them to simply leave their spouses and families behind and return to Afghanistan," shared Tahir.

According to Moniza Kakar, a human rights lawyer working for the rights of Afghan citizens, most of the Afghan's detained by the police in Karachi thus far have been labourers working in the vegetable market. "The federal government's official directive only applies to the forced repatriation of Afghans holding the Afghan Citizen Card. However, in Karachi, Afghans possessing other valid documents are also being detained and forcibly deported to Afghanistan. The majority of these people are poor," informed Kakar.

It is important to note that the federal government initiated a nationwide operation to deport Afghans holding the Afghan Citizen Card after the deadline of March 31st. According to statistics obtained by the Express Tribune from the Sindh Police, approximately 300 Afghans are being detained and deported from Karachi each week following the expiration of this deadline. Sources from Sindh's Home Department have further estimated that around 16,000 Afghan Citizen Card holders reside in Sindh, with most of them living in Karachi.

However, the actual number is believed to be much higher than official figures. This is evident from the statements made by legally residing Afghan nationals who claim to have lived in the city for so long that their fourth generations have now been born here. This was also acknowledged by the Afghan refugee leader Maulana Rahimullah during a recent press briefing at the Karachi Press Club.

Hence, a large number of Afghan nationals in Karachi and across the country are residing illegally, without any official documentation. In addition to this, another category includes Afghans who entered Pakistan using fake documents and have since established businesses and properties in the country.