ISLAMABAD: Citizens of Afghanistan confined in jails of Karachi for illegally entering Pakistan have wished to return home, the National Commission on Human Rights (NCHR) said in a report here on Tuesday.

The NCHR in collaboration with the Legal Aid Office conducted an on-site visit to Karachi central prison and prepared a report detailing the situation.

The NCHR’s team comprising Rabiya Javeri Agha and Haya Zahid met with Afghan women and children being held and heard their ordeals.

Of the total 143 interviews conducted, Women’s Prison and Central Prison in Karachi, 44 per cent were juveniles, 39.8pc women and 16pc men. Of these an overwhelming majority, 75.5pc had arrived in Pakistan in 2022.

Most commonly cited reason for arrival in Pakistan for Afghan women was access to better medical facilities whereas adult males and juveniles stated that the availability of better work opportunities was their primary reason for coming to Pakistan.

The on-site visit also found that the high number of Afghan women and children being held was overwhelming, forcing the prison to function beyond its capacity of 300.

The NCHR said that a significant majority of Afghans interviewed wished to return home. The report put forth a number of policy recommendations to help the foreign nationals being detained and limit prisons from operating above capacity.

On the basis of the report, the NCHR recommended a strong liaison must be established between the prison administration and the Afghan mission in Pakistan in order to ensure safe and immediate return of these people.

Secondly, greater sensitivity needed to be shown by the government authorities, it said.

Published in Dawn, December 21st, 2022