KABUL (SW): Emerging reports from Pakistan suggest Afghan citizens in Pakistan with or without visa are facing constant persecution from the local authorities.
Following the killing of Taliban supreme leader Mullah Mansour in a US drone strike inside Pakistan, ties between Kabul and Islamabad have hit a snag. This was followed by a unilateral decision by Pakistan to close down the Torkham crossing point for thousands of Afghans across the Durand Line.
Razaq Barq, an independent journalist in Pakistan’s southern Queeta city told Salam Watandar that the Afghans travelling or staying at hotels have been on the local police’s watch list. Barq added that these refugees and travelers have been constantly victimized over different excuses. “They are not allowed to freely move in the markets, visit hospitals or walk in the parks, the police offend them and ask them to bring permission letters from various offices, which is another daunting task for them”, he said.
Commenting on the prevailing situation, Raheemullah Yousufzai, a Peshawar based journalist said that it was not something new. Yousufzai added that whenever ties between the two countries go through such a rough patch, the common citizens bear the brunt. “The embassy staff in Islamabad and the diplomats in Peshawar city have raised similar complaints related to their free movement in Pakistan”, he said.
In Kabul, Shakeb Mustaghni, spokesman for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs informed that the diplomatic mission in Pakistan was aware of the troubles and is actually busy trying to resolve them. “We are seriously trying our best to resolve the troubles faced by Afghans in Pakistan”, he stressed.
Discarding the reports of persecution, Akhtar Munir, Press Secretary of the Embassy of Pakistan in Kabul said that no Afghan with legal documents is troubled in Pakistan.
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