Crackdown rattles Afghans in Pakistan

Afghan women walking through a refugee camp in Karachi. Afghans have poured into Pakistan in their millions during decades of successive wars, many living in aid camps with restricted access to education, healthcare and employment. Around 1.3 million are registered refugees and 880,000 more have legal status to remain in Pakistan, according to the latest United Nations figures. — AFP

THE cow had been slaughtered and bags of rice purchased but young bride Wahida’s nuptials were cut short when her groom was arrested on their wedding day, one of hundreds caught in a recent crackdown on Afghans living in Pakistan.

The 20-year-old now lives with her in-laws at the Afghan Muhajir aid camp in the port megacity of Karachi but without her husband-to-be, a registered refugee.