PESHAWAR: The police stopped the crackdown on Afghan nationals living illegally after the ruling Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) leaders and lawmakers accused the force of humiliating the foreigners during Ramazan and some alleged that detained Afghans were released after receiving bribes, The News learnt on Tuesday.
“I will make spot checks at police stations to see first-hand the plight of Afghans being picked up. This inhumane treatment of Afghans, especially in the holy month of Ramazan, is unacceptable,” tweeted Arbab Sher Ali, a Member of the National Assembly from Peshawar.
He was responding to a tweet by Irfan Saleem, city president of PTI. Irfan asked Chief Minister Muhammad Sohail Afridi to take notice of the alleged humiliation of Afghan nationals by the police in parts of Peshawar and other areas. MNA Shandana Gulzar also criticised the police for their actions against Afghans.
A source said senior government functionaries later directed police high-ups to stop the alleged humiliation of Afghan nationals across KP and conduct an inquiry into allegations of bribery for their release.
There were numerous complaints against police officials for misbehaving with Afghans. In some homes, only women and children were left after the arrest of all male members during the drive.
On Monday, all officers were directed to stop the drive against Afghan nationals until further orders. Officials said the operation was halted due to the border situation, as the crossing is currently closed and no one can be deported.
Hundreds of Afghans were seen in lock-ups and courts over the last two days, where they were produced after their arrest.There was no space to keep them until the reopening of the border, after which they were ultimately released.
Operations had begun last week against illegal foreigners in Peshawar and several other districts where a large number of them were still residing.Police, along with other forces, conducted search operations to check computerised national identity cards and other documents, and hundreds were arrested during the actions.
Over one million Afghans have returned to their homeland from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in recent months, while hundreds of thousands are still residing in the province after 46 years of stay in Pakistan.According to officials, over 65 per cent of Afghans have returned from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in the last almost one year.
