US envoy visits Pakistan to ‘learn more about’ Afghan refugee situation

US Chargé d’Affaires to Afghanistan Karen Decker visited Pakistan this week to assess the situation for Afghans in the country.

The US official for Afghanistan, who works from Doha, Qatar, visited Pakistan as part of her “listening tour”, according to a series of tweets she posted on Twitter on Tuesday.

“Look forward to learning more about the situation for Afghans in Pakistan & meeting the people & groups working together here to support Afghans and Afghanistan,” she said.

This comes after reports emerged this week of the arrest of more than 1,000 Afghan refugees in Pakistan.

The IEA said it will hold discussions with Pakistani officials regarding the issue.

Former president Hamid Karzai meanwhile said in response to the reports that he was deeply concerned about the issue and called on Islamabad to treat Afghan refugees according to international standards and human rights.

However, reports indicate that the Pakistani police released about 30 Afghan immigrants after investigations on Monday.

According to Pakistani authorities, these immigrants had entered Pakistan illegally and without documents.