The Embassy of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (IEA) in Islamabad announced Wednesday that 120 Afghan nationals have been released from prisons in Sindh province in Pakistan.
Afghanistan’s Diplomatic Mission in Islamabad said on Twitter that Afghan 120 detainees were released on Tuesday and a further 130 will be freed in the coming days.
Prior to this, the Afghan Embassy had announced that 1,300 Afghan refugees had been released from Pakistani prisons.
According to Pakistani officials, during a special operation, police detained more than 1,200 Afghan nationals including women and children across Pakistan on charges of not having valid visas.
The Afghan Embassy in Pakistan has confirmed that nearly 1,500 undocumented Afghan refugees are still in prisons in Pakistan, and efforts are underway to secure their release.
Meanwhile, UNHCR in Pakistan this week thanked Pakistan for having supported Afghan refugees for over 40 years.
“Today, UNHCR’s Asia Director, met with Senator Muhammad Talha Mahmood, Senator, Federal Minister for Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON), and thanked Pakistan for helping to protect Afghan refugees and offering avenues for solutions,” UNHCR Pakistan tweeted.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) reports, some 1.3 million legal Afghan refugees are currently residing in Pakistan, however, it is estimated that thousands of illegal Afghan migrants are living in different parts of Pakistan.
