A intensified deportation offensive grips Islamabad, with Pakistani forces arresting Afghan refugees en masse and funneling them to transit camps. The sweep, claiming a journalist victim, underscores deepening frictions over long-term exiles.
Local sources detail B-17 raids that filled Haji Camp with detainees on Wednesday. Echoing prior grievances from Faisal Town—harassment, ransoms, covert ops—this phase escalates a nationwide push against paperless Afghans.
Press freedom advocates reel from the reporter’s capture, viewing it as part of systemic media suppression. Displaced Afghans, rooted in Pakistan for years sans legal recourse, endure a siege mentality amid unchecked police tactics.
Activist voices amplify the peril: forced returns to Afghanistan doom many to Taliban atrocities. Amnesty’s open missive to Sharif spotlights UNHCR data—1.1 million in jeopardy—and demands expulsion halts, rights compliance, and safeguards for the vulnerable.
Particularly endangered: female escapees, truth-tellers, and rights fighters, all primed for reprisals back home. The plea invokes Pakistan’s storied hospitality, now eroded by the 2023 repatriation blueprint targeting even authenticated refugees.
Economic woes and security hawks fuel the drive, but international backlash mounts. With camps as staging grounds for flights home, the policy tests Pakistan’s global standing. Can compassion prevail over compulsion in this protracted saga?