Head of the Taliban's embassy in Islamabad in a meeting with the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) called for the organisation's support for the rights of Afghan refugees against harassment by Pakistani police.

The Taliban's embassy in Islamabad announced on Wednesday, January 15, that the chargé d'affaires of the embassy, Sardar Ahmad Shakib, in a meeting with Philippa Candler, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan, expressed "serious" concern over the arrest and harassment of Afghan refugees in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad by the Pakistani police.

Shakib said that police were searching the homes of migrants and even arresting Afghan nationals with visas and legal documents, including women and children, and in some cases demanding "bribes and large sums of money".

The statement from the Taliban embassy also said that Pakistani police are telling Afghan refugees that after January 15, all Afghans with or without legal documents should be evacuated from the cities of Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

"The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) should defend the rights of the holders of Sharp Office tokens (a UN partner agency in Islamabad and Sindh), POR Card and other cards and take the necessary measures to facilitate them," the Taliban diplomat said.

According to a statement from the Taliban embassy, Philippa Candler, the head of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Pakistan, said that she has held several meetings with the Pakistani government to end this practice with Afghan refugees.

"She will discuss this issue with Pakistani officials again in the coming days," the statement said.

For the past two weeks, Pakistani police in the cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad have started arresting, harassing and deporting Afghan refugees. Police have also arrested migrants who have fled to Pakistan for fear of Taliban reprisals over the past three years.