Dozens of Afghan children and women in Pakistani prisons

Pakistan’s National Human Rights Commission said in a report that at least 139 Afghan women and 165 children are being held in Karachi’s women’s prison along with other criminals.

Most of these women had gone to Karachi for treatment and were arrested for not having documents.

Recently, the government has started a massive round of arrests of Afghans who entered Pakistan illegally. According to the Human Rights Commission, state officials want to “curb the illegal entry of refugees.”

The report states that 111 Afghan children between the ages of 14 and 18 are imprisoned in the Juvenile Correctional Center in Karachi. 93% of these children went to Pakistan to find work.

These Afghan citizens, who were arrested only because they did not have identity documents, are now kept under the same roof with Pakistani accused and criminals.