HRW urges Pak to halt forceful return of Afghan refugees in wake of Peshawar school attack

The Human Rights Watch (HRW) has urged Pakistan to halt forced return of Afghan refugees from Pakistan in the wake of the recent Peshawar school attack.

A substantial rise in the number of Afghan refugees leaving the country has been noted since the Dec 16 Taliban attack on Peshawar's Army Public School.

According to Dawn, UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said that nine times as many Afghan refugees repatriated from Pakistan in January 2015 than in December 2014.

The increase in the count of refugees leaving the country seems to indicate that they are being forced to go back to Afghanistan by the local authorities.

Phelim Kine, deputy Asia director at Human Rights Watch said that Pakistani officials should not be scapegoating Afghans because of the Taliban's atrocities in Peshawar.

He further said that it was "inhumane" and "unlawful" to coerce Afghanis to return to places where they were likely to face harassment and abuse, the report added.