Pakistan releases 147 imprisoned Afghan refugees

According to Khaama Press, children and women are among those who have been released, and a prisoner's body has also been transferred, according to local officials for refugees in Kandahar.

A total of 147 Afghan refugees imprisoned in Pakistan for not obtaining residency, were freed and allowed to return to Afghanistan on Sunday, Afghanistan-based Khaama Press reported. According to Khaama Press, children and women are among those who have been released, and a prisoner's body has also been transferred, according to local officials for refugees in Kandahar.

Some freed detainees with various diseases were transferred to Mirwais Hospital in Kandahar. The official also said the rest of the people were returned to their homes with the help of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) office. According to officials, over the past few months, more than 2,000 Afghan refugees across Pakistan have been detained due to not having a residential permit, according to Khaama Press.

Most Afghan citizens who need medical care initially travel to Pakistan. As a result, Pakistani officials pledged to allow Afghanistan patients to enter Pakistan without visas. The Afghan consulate in Karachi has said that over the past three months, at least three Afghan refugees have died in prisons in Pakistan, Afghanistan-based TOLO News reported.

The consulate said that more than 1,000 Afghan refugees, including women and children, are in prisons in Pakistan. Farzad, a resident of Afghanistan's Faryab, said that his father, who was detained by Pakistani police, died in prison.

According to him, his parents were detained by the Pakistani police when they went to the country for medical treatment. He said that his father died in the prison and that his mother has not yet been released. "The dead body was at one of the hospitals in Karachi for 21 days because we waited in case my mother could at least come for the funeral of her husband, but unfortunately, the Islamic Emirate has not been able to get her released," he said, as quoted by TOLO News.

Abdul Jabar Takhari, the Afghan consul in Karachi, said that the cases of 150 refugees have been addressed and that they will be released soon. (ANI)

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