Human rights activist Fatima Atif has claimed that Afghan refugees have been sent back to their country forcefully as police were raiding their homes and arresting them.

“Since the announcement of the deadline, the Afghan refugees are in constant fear. The lives of people from the Hazara community, women rights activists, and culture are under threat,” she told Munizae Jahangir on Spot Light on Wednesday.

According to her, there was no law about refugees and asylum seekers. “We need to legislate on this matter for a long-term solution.”

Spokesperson for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan, Qaisar Afridi said that the Afghan refugees who came to Pakistan in 2021 could be under threat in their country.

“The lives of journalists, artists, musicians, and women rights activists could be under threat. We are appealing to the government to introduce a mechanism to register and manage them in Pakistan,” he added.

Afridi went on to add that thousands of Afghan refugees have approached the UNHCR to seek asylum in Pakistan and need international protection.

Interim Information Minister of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Barrister Firoz Jamal Shah Kakakhil said that KP was facing the brunt of the action against the illegal immigrants although the plan was announced for all four provinces.

Read: Only illegal refugees being sent back, Kakar clarifies

“On average 15,000 people are going back to their home voluntarily who were living in Pakistan illegally. Around 104,000 people have left for their home countries,” he added.

According to him, the government has identified the illegal immigrants who will be held in the centres before being deported to their countries. “Those who did not leave will be targeted district-wise.”