August 20, 2025 12:04 PM

Evicted Afghan refugees huddle in Islamabad park, dreading return home

Evicted from their homes and huddling under plastic sheets after heavy rains, Afghan refugees in a park near government offices in Islamabad said they had nowhere to go as Pakistan pressures landlords to expel documented families. Among them is Samia, 26, from Afghanistan’s Hazara minority, a Shi’ite community long persecuted at home, who gave birth just three weeks ago. "I came here when my baby was seven days old, and now it has been 22 days … we have no food, and my baby was sick but ...