KARACHI: More than 500 Afghan migrants, including women and children, have been released from a jail in the southern Pakistani port city of Karachi the other day.
A video shared by the embassy on Twitter showed women and children behind the main gate of the prison, waiting to be released under supervision of Pakistani and Afghan authorities. Another video showed men seated in a bus ready to depart for Afghanistan.
نن شنبه، د ۱۴۰۱ هجري شمسي کال د مرغومي ۱۷ مه، اسلام آباد کې د افغانستان سفارت او کراچۍ کې د هېواد جنرل کونسلګرۍ د هلو ځلو په ترڅ کې د پاکستان هیواد د سیند ایالت له زندانونو څخه ۵۲۴ تنه افغانان را خلاص او خپل وطن ته یې د رالیږد بهیر جریان لري. pic.twitter.com/rpSn0vM9sZ
— Hafiz Zia Ahmad (@HafizZiaAhmad) January 7, 2023
The 524 released Afghan nationals include 54 women and 97 children, Afghanistan’s embassy in Islamabad said.
It may be recalled that Sindh Police in multiple raids last month detained at least 1,200 Afghan nationals who entered Karachi without valid travel documents.
The arrests brought criticism from around Afghanistan after images of locked up Afghan children circulated online. The detentions underscored the strained relations between the two South Asian neighbors followed by demands from Kabul to respect refugees.
