Police in Pakistan’s northwest detain Afghan nationals over 'anti-Pakistan slogans'

Security personnel stand guard outside the district court building in Peshawar on July 29, 2020. (AFP/File)

• Afghans, many without legal documents, caused unrest while celebrating Afghanistan’s independence day on Wednesday
• Pakistan has hosted Afghan nationals for more than 40 years, the country currently has 1.4 million registered refugees

PESHAWAR: More than two dozen Afghan nationals were arrested in the provincial capital of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa over accusations of chanting anti-Pakistan slogans and ransacking public property while celebrating Afghanistan’s Independence Day, a police official said on Thursday.
Afghanistan celebrates its Independence Day on August 19 to commemorate the Anglo-Afghan treaty of 1919 which led to the end of British control over the country.
A large number of Afghan nationals in Pakistan on Wednesday gathered in Hayatabad, an upscale neighborhood in Peshawar, and started shouting anti-Pakistan slogans, according to police.
“We registered a case against 17 Afghan nationals who were subsequently arrested and sent to jail after being produced in a local court,” Asif Khan, an official at the Hayatabad Police Station, told Arab News.
He added that another police station had also arrested nine Afghan citizens for undermining public order in the city.
According to a police report, the detained Afghan nationals blocked a road in Hayatabad and started pelting members of the public with stones, before authorities arrived and restored order.
“The police detained the Afghan citizens, many of whom did not have proper legal documents to stay in Pakistan,” the police report said.
Noorshad Wazir, a university student who witnessed the incident, told Arab News that hundreds of Afghans joined the Independence Day celebrations, which ultimately turned violent.
“Foreigners, including Afghans, should abide by the law of the host country while observing their national days,” he added.
The development took place as thousands of Afghans gathered in their country’s eastern Nangarhar province and raised their national flags, prompting the Taliban to disperse the crowd with gunfire, killing three people.
Flag-waving protesters took to the streets of more Afghan cities on Thursday as popular opposition to the Taliban spread, and witnesses told media several people were killed when militants fired on a crowd in Asadabad in the east.
Pakistan has hosted Afghan nationals for more than 40 years. According to the United Nations refugee agency, the country currently has 1.4 million registered refugees, though their total number can be far greater since many of the displaced people have not registered themselves with authorities.