A number of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan`s capital say arrests and extortion by the country`s security forces have intensified, warning that life in Pakistan has turned into an "endless prison." The refugees made the remarks on Friday.

According to AnsarPress, documented reports indicate that Pakistani police carried out door-to-door operations for the second time in the past week in Islamabad`s E-11 sector, detaining Afghans without legal documentation. Eyewitnesses say that during the raids, residential doors were forced open and wardrobes and personal belongings were searched without court warrants. Similar complaints have also been recorded from residents of Faisal Town and other areas around the capital, alleging that officers demanded illegal payments in exchange for preventing arrests.

Many of the refugees-who fled to Pakistan to escape Taliban reprisals, particularly former members of the security forces, employees of the former republican government, and Shiite families-now say they feel "trapped by the Taliban all over again." They warn that forced deportation to Afghanistan under current conditions would amount to surrendering them to serious risks, including detention, torture, and grave human rights violations.

The heightened security pressure in Pakistan follows escalating diplomatic and border tensions between Islamabad and the Taliban. In this context, the United Nations previously warned in an official report that returnees to Afghanistan-especially women, journalists, former government employees, and members of religious minorities-face serious dangers such as arbitrary detention, torture, and severe restrictions on personal freedoms. Afghan refugees in Pakistan have called on the international community and Western countries to exert effective diplomatic pressure on Pakistan to halt forced returns of at-risk individuals.

Meanwhile, the continued forced repatriation of Afghan refugees to Kabul not only constitutes a clear violation of the international refugee law principle of non-refoulement, but also reflects the transformation of a humanitarian crisis into a geopolitical pressure tool between Pakistan and the Taliban. This approach undermines international protection frameworks and entrenches a cycle of human insecurity in which refugees-especially vulnerable groups-are left defenseless amid regional power struggles.