ISLAMABAD, June 3: The Revolutionary Afghan Women Association (RAWA) has appealed to President General Pervez Musharraf for the release of Afghan refugees detained in different prisons in Pakistan.

In its resolution the RAWA demanded the release of Afghan refugees, including women and children, who are not involved in any criminal cases and being detained at Adiala Jail and other prisons in the country.

The RAWA also demanded that harassment of the Afghan refugees by Rawalpindi and Islamabad police should be stopped.

In its resolution the association asked the government to expedite the proceedings of cases involving Afghan refugees.

It said during the crackdown on Afghan refugees after two policemen were killed in Rawalpindi, around 2,000 refugees were arrested in Subzimandi Kutcha Abadi, Khataria Market and Khayaban-i-Sir Syed. “As many as 470 Afghan refugees were arrested by the Sihala police in a single day,” it added.

The resolution said about 1,200 Afghan refugees were sent to the Adiala Jail while the remaining were release by the police after taking bribes.

It noted that the police had also arrested a large number of Afghan children, under the age of 15 years, for not having valid documents. “Children are not required by law to possess or carry documents of any kind,” it added.

The RAWA resolution stated that there were between 3,000 to 4,000 Afghan nationals detained at the Adiala Jail besides six women and more than 200 children.

It said more than a hundred of the detainees were confined in barracks, which generally housed only 60 inmates.