Afghan refugees creating socio-economic problems

PESHAWAR : For more than three decades Pakistan had been hosting the largest number of Afghan refugees on its soil in a unique gesture of Islamic brotherhood and regional harmony. Pakistan’s this courtesy not only won acknowledgement in the region but also across the globe. This large chunk of refugees had to leave their homeland due to the then USSR in 1979 plunging a peaceful country into chaos also threatening solidarity and security of its neighbors. Though, being a hospitable neighbour, Pakistan welcomed Afghan brothers to its soil and extended them all possible assistance and hospitality. But, the people of Pakistan did not know they would suffer a lot due to large influx of Afghan refugees. Pakistani people today face variety of issues due to prolonged Afghan unrest, like narcotics, militancy and Kalashnikov culture. “Nobody in Pakistan knew about subversive activities like blasts, suicide bombing and taking life of innocent people,” an independent analysis said. They put extra load on Pakistan’s economy and the employment opportunities for local people continued shrinking. Though, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had arranged temporary camps for the refugees, but the Pakistan government had to bear the major brunt of their stay in the country. Though they were earlier restricted to these camps but large number among them gradually shifted to settled areas with many getting Pakistan’s Identity Cards and Passports. Side by side small cities their focus had also been big cities like Peshawar, Lahore, Islamabad, Quetta and Karachi and also started their own businesses. According to an independent economists, these Afghan refugees dominated the businesses specially in NWFP due to their expertise in the illegal trade and businesses. Some experts view that most of these migrants have been found involved in illegal activities like drug peddling, arms smuggling and incidents of terrorism in the country. The country passing through the terrible phase of war against terrorism is also more or less linked to Afghan problem and settlement of Afghan and exotic fighters. Like some previous governments, Cabinet members of the present government like Minister for States and Frontier Regions Najamuddin Khan is critical of such a long stay of Afghan refugees in the country. “Though we bore the associated problems but now the issue seemed to be aggravating more than the past,” Najamuddin said. “The government never budge from its stance to cater to the needs of a such large number of refugees. But as normalcy is returning to Afghanistan, these refugees ought to be repatriated without any delay,” he added. He said the international community should play its role and ensure early return of these people to their homeland. Referring to related problems, he pointed out, the Afghan people residing in different parts of the country especially in NWFP have sprawled their businesses to the deprivation of local people. Under the current situation when the whole nation is united in fighting against terrorism, a number of Afghan nationals have been nabbed or killed in military operations in restive parts of NWFP. “Presence of refugees population also served as safe heaven for terrorists and extremists elements from Afghanistan,” he added. He also described the response from international community as less encouraging, particularly when the country was already facing economic problems. He strongly recommended to have strict check on Afghans coming back to pakistan after repatriation to their country. “They daily cross into Pakistan for the business or other purposes.” The decades long civil war among the warlords and presence of Taliban insurgents was another problem. But, Pakistan faced this challenge with commitment and resilience and waited the situation in Afghanistan to improve. According to the UNHCR representative Asif Shahzad, presently over 1.7 million registered Afghans refugees are living in Pakistan and it was estimated that over one million refugees remained in camps in Peshawar and Balochistan. In addition to it, an unknown but substantial number of Afghans are known to live in Pakistan’s urban areas. It was decided by the Tripartite Commission including Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR to close three of the camps established after September 11, 2001, early in 2004. Now, whatever the case, there is dire need for the Afghan government to call back their residents as in changing scenario, Pakistan could not be able to further host them and suffer in the name of courtesy. Dwellers of these camps had shifted to Pakistan in several waves starting from the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979. The last refugee wave - nearly 300,000 Afghans—reached Pakistan after September 11, 2001 attacks. Conditions for Afghan refugees in Pakistan differ greatly. Some still live in tents, others in mud house settlements that look like the villages they left behind. International agencies like UNHCR and WFP have been contributing to the government efforts to meet the needs of Afghan refugees. Largest number among them; 1.5 million refugees; were repatriated in 2002, with Pakistan still carrying the load of hundreds of thousands refugees.