Afghan refugees suffer, thanks to world apathy

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Information Minister Mian Iftikhar Hussain on Thursday said that sufferings of the Afghan refugees in Pakistan had increased for the last many years owing to apathy of the international community, which would have a negative impact on social, economic and law and order situation in the province.

Speaking at a roundtable conference held at a hotel on the ‘Management and Repatriation Strategy of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan (AMRS)’, the minister said the government wanted repatriation of Afghan refugees in a honourable way but at the same time there should also be a proper mechanism under which the peoples of Pakistan and Afghanistan should continue their trade and business.

“The Afghans living under proper legal documents pose no threats to our economy and the security,” he said, adding that the under-privileged and illegal Afghan national could become a threat to the law and order. He said that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and tribal areas, bordering Afghanistan, had been adversely affected during the Afghan war due to the influx of refugees.

In his speech, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs Barrister Arshad Abdullah said that there should be a proper law for providing permanent settlement to those Afghans who had been living in Pakistan for decades. He said the volunteer repatriation processes till near past had proved to be a futile exercise as the Afghan families were either reluctant to go back to their homeland or manage to come back to Pakistan soon after entertaining the UNHCR-sponsored repatriation.

Provincial Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development Sitara Ayaz also addressed the conference. The conference was told that about 40 to 50 per cent Afghans living in Pakistan did not want to go back for unstable security situation, etc.

About 70 per cent of the Afghans living in Pakistan belonged to five bordering provinces of Afghanistan including Nangarhar, Kunar, Khost, Paktia and Paktika. As AMRS initiative, the UNHCR has mobilised additional support for local communities in Pakistan that generously host millions of Afghan refugees for the last three decades.

In this regard, during this year, projects worth nearly $8.5 million of infrastructure development, water and sanitation, health and education, have been initiated through the Refugee-Affected and Hosting Areas (RAHA).

The voluntary return operation resumed this March after the winter break. So far, 2,500 individuals have gone back home to Afghanistan. At least 3.7 million Afghans have returned home from Pakistan with the help of the UNHCR since 2002.