Afghan Refugees Detained in Pakistan Amid Escalating Cross-Border Conflict
Afghan refugees in Pakistan are facing a sharp increase in police raids, arrests, and deportations as tensions escalate between the two nations. This follows Pakistan's declaration of an "open war" with Afghanistan after cross-border strikes on militant groups, which Islamabad accuses Kabul of supporting.
Journalists and Activists Living in Fear
For millions of Afghans residing in Pakistan, many of whom are journalists, activists, or former government officials who fled Taliban rule, the rising conflict is translating into direct threats at their doorsteps. Richard Bennett, the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Afghanistan, warns that returning these individuals to their home country would place them at "real risk of violent retaliatory attacks."
Recent clashes have intensified since Thursday, when Afghanistan launched attacks along the frontier. Pakistani forces retaliated with cross-border strikes and airstrikes on seven camps of the Tehreek-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), also known as the Pakistan Taliban.
Personal Ordeals Highlight Worsening Situation
Alma, an Afghan journalist who fled the Taliban in October 2024, experienced this turmoil firsthand. She attempted to board a flight from Karachi airport with her husband and three-year-old son, holding tickets she believed would take them to safety. Despite booking flights with a return leg to Kabul, officials from Pakistan's Federal Investigation Agency refused to let the family board.
"The officers told us to go back to Afghanistan and fly wherever we want to from there. They said we cannot fly to our destination from Pakistan," Alma recounted. Within hours, she and her family were also turned away from a hotel due to their Afghan passports.
Alma, who works for an exiled media group covering the Taliban's human rights violations, fears deportation could endanger her life. "I am an Afghan woman journalist with nowhere to go," she says, describing moments of suffocating anxiety amid news of regional conflicts.
Widespread Police Raids and Arrests
Across major cities like Karachi, Islamabad, Quetta, and Peshawar, Afghans report new checkpoints and house-to-house searches. In Quetta, near the Afghan border, Leila described hearing loud knocks at her door late one night, suspecting it was the police. Her neighbour, an Afghan woman with a valid visa, had already seen her husband arrested days earlier.
"Since coming to Pakistan, I have been taking pills because of the intense stress; my heart was in severe pain and I was crying," Leila said. She noted that three neighbours were arrested that night, including two with valid visas, and communication was cut off after they were taken to a camp.
Leila observed a shift in police behavior: "Pakistani police used to take money and then let people go. But now they only deport."
Refugees Forced into Hiding
Abdul, an investigative journalist who fled Taliban rule after being deported from Iran, arrived in Pakistan in July 2025. His two-month visa was not renewed, and since September, he has been arrested twice, paying bribes to secure his release.
To avoid detection, Abdul and his family rent a home under another person's name. When police conduct searches, a neighbour with valid papers answers the door. "When the police search house to house, we often hide outside. That is how the police arrested me twice on the street," he explained.
Community Alerts and Desperation
In a Facebook group with over 44,000 Afghan refugees, posts since 26 February have focused on sounding alarms about police activities. One post reads, "Tonight, after 12am, the police raided our neighbourhood and arrested all the men... it is not clear where they were taken." Another warns, "The situation is very bad. Everyone should be ready to go back to Afghanistan."
On 27 February, journalist Zarghona Akbari reported that police arrested her and her children despite her valid visa. In a voice message on Facebook, she pleaded for help, stating, "Tonight they came again. Right now, they are transferring us to the camp from the police station."
As cross-border clashes continue to flare, Afghan refugees in Pakistan find themselves trapped in a precarious situation, with many fearing deportation to a homeland where their safety is uncertain.
