New Delhi, Jan 11 : Amnesty International, a leading human rights organisation, has asked the Pakistani government to protect and shield the Afghan refugees, staying in their territory, from harassment and unlawful torture by security agencies.

Penning an open letter to Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, it has expressed grave concerns over unlawful detention, harassment and deportation of Afghan refugees living there, highlighting the fact that they remain vulnerable and deserve state protection.

It demanded that Pakistani authorities take proactive steps to halt the deportation of Afghan refugees and ensure that they are safeguarded as per international human rights law.

â??Pakistani authorities must ensure that the rights of Afghan refugees are protected, particularly protection from arbitrary detention and eviction from refugee camps and their accommodations,â?? the letter to Pak PM said.

Citing the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) data, Amnesty International stated that around 110,000 refugees and asylum seekers were faced with direct threats of deportation and therefore require protection. It also shifted the focus to the vulnerability of women, journalists, and human rights activists if forcibly returned to Afghanistan.

Notably, Pakistan has hosted Afghan refugees for over 40 years, sheltering hundreds of thousands who fled conflict and political upheaval. However, since the launch of the â??Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Planâ?? in September 2023, Pakistan stepped up efforts to repatriate undocumented and unverified Afghans, including some with legal refugee status.

According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), 1,495,851 Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan since the deportation campaign began, with nearly half, 778,739, returning in 2025 alone.

Also, similar deportation drives are taking place in nations like Iran. According to estimates, more than four million Afghans have been deported or forced to return from Pakistan and Iran since September 2023, including more than 2.6 million in 2025.

/IANS