Afghan refugees

The problem with being a refugee anywhere is that sooner or later — and it could be a lot later — it will be time to go home. The Afghans living in Pakistan, still the largest population of refugees anywhere in the world, now face the difficulty of leaving what for many is ‘home’ and returning to their own country — which for many is not home at all. Broadly speaking, Afghan refugees in Pakistan fall into two categories: registered and unregistered. Many of them are second-generation and were born here. Those that remain are mostly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but they are scattered across the entire country to a greater or lesser degree. There may be as many as three million, and Pakistan has decided it is time for them to go home. Those that wanted to go home already have, which leaves a significant population of Afghans who have little or no desire to return to their home country.

Those registered have a valid status only until December 31 2012, those unregistered have no status whatsoever. The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government had directed all unregistered Afghans to leave by August 31, a deadline now past. The statement is unequivocal in saying that all Afghans, registered and unregistered have to leave by December 31 2012 and a humanitarian crisis is before us. There are reports that other provinces have already been moving to clear their Afghan refugee populations, deporting them via Torkham. Those with businesses — and there are many — are being advised to pack up, liquidate their assets and move back whence they came. The statement flies in the face of that made by the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) last month. The UNHCR was quick to deny a report in a foreign newspaper that Pakistan was planning to repatriate the Afghans by the end of the year, a denial now clearly at variance with ground realities. There is going to be no happy or tidy end to the story and persuading — or forcing — nearly three million people back across the border in the next four months is going to be a huge logistical task. The government and the UNHCR need to be reading off the same page which is apparently not the case at the moment; and a joint statement defining the true nature and future of Afghan refugees in Pakistan would be greatly welcomed. This issue must be handled with maturity and with proper planning and resources else it turns into a major source of disturbance and violence in an already troubled situation.