At least 170 Afghan prisoners were released from the Landhi Prison in Karachi and 38 prisoners were released from various prisons in Sindh on Saturday.

Deputy spokesman of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, Hafiz Zia Ahmed, said in a tweet that 208 Afghans imprisoned in Sindh and Karachi have been released due to the efforts of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad and the Afghan Consulate in Karachi.

According to the Deputy Spokesman of the Afghan Foreign Ministry, the released prisoners will be brought back to their country at the expense of the Afghan Embassy.

Police said that the prisoners will be moved to Balochistan where they will be handed over to Afghan authorities at the Chaman border crossing between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Hundreds of Afghan nationals, including women and children, have been arrested in Pakistan in recent months for illegally entering the country.

In December 2022, social media was rocked by reports that over 500 young Afghan children were being held at Sindh’s prisons.

Sindh Information Minister Sharjeel Memon rejected the claims as rumours.

Pakistan has released multiple batches of Afghan prisoners since then.