Pakistani media outlets wrote that the country’s government has ordered local authorities and the Inspector General of Police in Punjab to investigate the alleged harassment of Afghan immigrants by the police.
The order has been issued following a complaint from the Taliban embassy in Islamabad.
Dawn newspaper wrote that the complaint was lodged in a meeting between the officials of the Taliban’s embassy in Islamabad and Pakistani authorities.
As per the report, the Taliban conveyed during a meeting with Pakistani officials that two Afghan immigrants with residence permits were subjected to harassment and threats at a police station in Rawalpindi, where demands for money were also made.
The report also stated that an Afghan child, who had a Proof of Registration Card (PoR), had been killed as the result of torture by several people.
The Taliban have said that the Pakistani police addressed the killing of this child under a wrong first police investigation report (FIR) and declined to impose punishment on the suspects.
It has been said that the investigation has begun against Rawalpindi police officers and officials who are accused of persecuting Afghan immigrants.
This is despite the fact that in the past few months, Afghanistan International has also received numerous reports of harassment by the police during the deportation of undocumented Afghan immigrants from Pakistan. Several human rights and refugee support organisations have also confirmed the reports of police harassment against Afghan immigrants.
