New Delhi, Jan 27 (NationPress) Afghan detainees returning from prisons in Pakistan have been sharing distressing accounts of abuse and mistreatment during their confinement, with several asserting they were imprisoned without cause, according to reports from Kabul.

As reported by Afghanistan’s Tolo News on Tuesday, Pakistan has escalated the apprehension, detention, and forced repatriation of Afghan refugees. Just last week, more than 500 Afghans were returned from Pakistani facilities to Afghan authorities at Spin Boldak.

Spin Boldak, located in Afghanistan’s Kandahar province, borders Chaman in Pakistan’s Balochistan province and has historically served as a vital trade route. However, following a violent clash in October of the previous year, the border has remained largely closed, allowing only limited crossings with mutual agreement.

Tolo News previously reported that Afghans recently back from Pakistan described being subjected to harsh and inhumane conditions within prisons after being detained by Pakistani law enforcement. Akhtar Mohammad Hotak, who was deported with his family via Spin Boldak, recounted his imprisonment in Balochistan, detailing mistreatment inflicted by Pakistani authorities.

“We haven’t eaten anything yet. They didn’t provide us with water or tea. There were no basic amenities. They crammed 100 individuals into a single room,” shared another returnee, Akhtar Mohammad Hotak.

Abdul Sattar, another man released from a Pakistani prison, claimed he was incarcerated despite having valid identification. He alleged that another detainee, lacking any documentation, was released after paying 45,000 Pakistani rupees.

“If you pay, they let you go; if not, they return you,” he stated to the news outlet.

Among the 500 released prisoners, a man named Mohammad reported that he was seized while en route to work and taken to a refugee camp in Karachi. “They inquired about my origin. When I said I was Afghan, they assaulted me brutally; my shoulder continues to ache. My sole offense was being Afghan,” he asserted.

Another individual remarked, “No one showed us respect there. They gazed at our mothers and sisters with disdain.”

A former prisoner, who claimed to have spent approximately two weeks in a Pakistani jail, stated that the police treated them so poorly that many Afghan inmates were not even allowed to rest at night. “The cruelty was such that everyone here witnessed it. We were all forced to stand, while women lay on the ground. Each person received half a piece of bread. The conditions were unbearable,” added Dost Mohammad, another former inmate.

He claimed they recorded their ordeal, highlighting that the brutality they experienced was beyond their worst nightmares.

Experts consulted by Tolo News have called on humanitarian organizations to intervene and prevent the mistreatment of Afghan refugees in surrounding nations. One analyst expressed that the arrest, detention, and deportation of Afghan refugees in Iran, Pakistan, or any other country contravenes international standards, urging the global community to take action.