Pakistan releases 520 Afghans, including nearly a hundred children, from their detention centers

7 Jan. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Pakistani authorities have released more than 520 Afghan citizens, including 97 children, who were in the country’s detention centers after being arrested in one of the many coordinated operations against illegal migration that the Pakistani security forces have carried out. During the last months.

Many of these detainees are undocumented migrants, such as the 1,200 who were arrested on December 29 in the Pakistani port of Karachi.

The arrests drew criticism across Afghanistan after images of Afghan children in jail spread and underscored strained relations between the two South Asian neighbors, which have clashed in occasional border disputes and over so-called “Pakistani Taliban” activity.

“Today, Saturday, as a result of the efforts of the Afghan Embassy in Islamabad and the country’s Consulate General in Karachi, 524 Afghans were released from prisons, including 54 women and 97 children,” the Embassy of the Afghan Taliban regime said. in Pakistan, one of the few countries with which it maintains diplomatic relations.

All transportation, food and clothing expenses of the prisoners will be borne by the Embassy and Consulate of Afghanistan, adds the statement, picked up by the Afghan chain Ariana.

Millions of Afghans fled to Pakistan during the Soviet occupation of their country between 1979 and 1989, creating one of the largest refugee populations in the world. Since then, Pakistan has taken in Afghans on the condition that they register with the United Nations and local authorities to avoid any risk of deportation.