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PESHAWAR, July 10: Security around the Afghan consulate in Peshawar was tightened on Thursday following an attack on the Pakistan embassy in Kabul by violent Afghan demonstrators.
The government has provided eight personnel of the Frontier Constabulary and four policemen in addition to the already deputed cops for the Afghan consulate, official sources told Dawn.
The decision to increase security was taken two days back during NWFP Home Secretary Abdul Karim Kasuria’s meeting with the high-ups of the law enforcement agencies, the sources added.
Sources said, the officials of the consulate had restricted their movement in the city.
COMPLAINT: The Afghan government has complained about the high-handed attitude of Peshawar police towards the Afghan refugee repatriation centre in Hayatabad, sources told Dawn on Thursday.
The Afghan consulate sent a letter to the home department in Peshawar on Saturday requesting it to stop the local police from extorting illegal money from the Afghan refugees at the centre.
The local police on the pretext of checking luggage demanded money from the refugees if they wanted to bypass the checking procedure, sources said.
An official of the Afghan consulate Haji Meraj told Dawn: “We have registered our complaint with the home department on several occasions, but failed to get any positive response.”
He alleged that whenever the UNHCR would launch repatriation programme the police troubled the Afghan refugees.
“We are compelled to pay Rs200 to Rs400 to bypass the checking of luggage at the repatriation centre,” said Amanullah of Kacha Ghari refugee camp.
“But it depends on on-the-spot deal as the police demand maximum share in the money paid by the UNHCR to the refugee families at the time of leaving for Afghanistan,” he said.
Commenting on the situation senior superintendent of police Khalid Habib Khan said: “We have taken immediate action on the complaint and stopped the police from checking luggage of the Afghan refugees.”
