|
Pak police abuse of Afghans rampant
 The Human Rights Watch (HRW) said Wednesday that the abuse of Afghans by police in Pakistan has been rampant since Pakistani Taliban launched a deadly attack on a school Peshawar last year.According to the latest report by HRW, the abuse by police has forced thousands of Afghans to abandon Pakistan and head towards Europe after returning to war-torn Afghanistan. The deputy Asia director of HRW, Phelim Kine, said “The Pakistani police’s outrageous mistreatment of Afghans over the past year calls for an immediate government response. The Pakistani government should press the police to apprehend perpetrators of atrocities instead of scapegoating the entire Afghan community.” Calling on Pakistani government to take all necessary measures to end the rampant police harassment, threats, and violence against Afghans living in Pakistan, HRW said akistani government is obligated to ensure that all law enforcement and other government officials treat Afghans living in Pakistan with dignity and respect for their human rights in compliance with domestic and international law. “Pakistan’s government has a responsibility to prevent and prosecute terrorist attacks,” Kine said. “But permitting police reprisals against the Afghan population is neither lawful nor effective in combatting terrorism.” HRW also added that the police abuses and ensuring that Afghans are treated fairly should be a first step toward formulating a viable legal framework to manage the Afghan population in Pakistan. The report has been prepared after interviewing 50 Afghans who had returned to Afghanistan after living many years in Pakistan, and 46 Afghans living in Pakistan, as well as Pakistani and Afghan government officials, staff of nongovernmental and community-based organizations, United Nations refugee agency officials, diplomats, journalists, and other experts. Pakistan is host to one of the largest displaced populations in the world. The 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees and 1 million undocumented Afghans that the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) estimates are living in Pakistan as of November 2015 include many who fled conflict and repression in Afghanistan during the late 1970s and early 1980s, and their descendants. Some arrived as children, grew up in Pakistan, married, and had children of their own who have never lived in Afghanistan. Others have arrived in the decades of turmoil in Afghanistan since, seeking security, employment, and a higher standard of living. Posted by: badanov 2015-11-19 |
| http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=436096 |