Pakistan to deport Afghan refugees

[NWO]

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Ap ko kia lagta hai, ke humarey government itna bara leverage card ko waisy jeb me ley ke ghumtey hai.

Thats sad that politicians would use these people as leverage. Too bad thats how politics are played.

As well, I don't know how Karzai will be pressured like this. Currently, he's merely a puppet of US, more or less. It'll be US who'll have to provide the funding for these people. And I don't think they are going to, with everything else happening. This will backfire as Western media portrays Pakistan as a cruel state for acting in such a way to these refugees.

[RescueRanger]

Thats sad that politicians would use these people as leverage. Too bad thats how politics are played.

As well, I don't know how Karzai will be pressured like this. Currently, he's merely a puppet of US, more or less. It'll be US who'll have to provide the funding for these people. And I don't think they are going to, with everything else happening. This will backfire as Western media portrays Pakistan as a cruel state for acting in such a way to these refugees.

It's sad but then that is politics, its sad and dirty. As for back firing, it is a calculated risk and the facts on the ground are clear as crystal this time. We even have UNHCR and ILO stats to back us up on this one.

But in my personal opinion, i don't condone such acts.

[H2O3C4Nitrogen]

Its not a good idea to deport afghanis provided there is huge chance of innocent afghan majority coming in the line of fire. Plus there should be a way to train these afghanis through skill developmental programs funded by UN so that they could be of any help to our country and Afghanistan if they return.
Throwing them out has reaginal implications.Once deported Digruntled, and disappointed Afghanis will easily be misguided by the elemnts hostile to Pakistan.Theres a security factor.
I am up for there registration.And there better contribution to the state of Pakistan. Though its hard but its a strategic investment which will pay off decades later..!!!

[AstanoshKhan]

Its not a good idea to deport afghanis provided there is huge chance of innocent afghan majority coming in the line of fire. Plus there should be a way to train these afghanis through skill developmental programs funded by UN so that they could be of any help to our country and Afghanistan if they return.
Throwing them out has reaginal implications.Once deported Digruntled, and disappointed Afghanis will easily be misguided by the elemnts hostile to Pakistan.Theres a security factor.
I am up for there registration.And there better contribution to the state of Pakistan. Though its hard but its a strategic investment which will pay off decades later..!!!

I wish there were few more Pakistani thinkers like you both among the populace and establishment, after all the Afghanis are human beings just like us.

[mehru]

Guys this is an old report but a very interesting read. It shows the concern of both Pakistanis and Afghan refugees.

Since 1978, Pakistan has hosted one of the world's largest refugee populations. Some two million Afghan refugees remain there. But after receiving and hosting Afghan refugees for more than twenty years, Pakistan has firmly pulled up the welcome mat. Government officials no longer recognize newly arriving Afghans as refugees and wants most long-term refugees to return home. This change in attitude, and subsequent actions by the Pakistani authorities, have caused widespread concern among Afghan refugees and have placed thousands of refugees at risk.

Government officials say that their change in attitude has been influenced by a number of factors: 1) Pakistan's worsening economy, which they say makes it impossible for the government to continue assisting refugees; 2) dwindling international financial support for the refugees, which officials say has burdened Pakistan; 3) social problems that the Pakistan government says are caused or exacerbated by the refugees' presence; 4) the ending, in 1988, of the Soviet occupation of Afghanistan, which caused the flight of most "long-term" refugees between 1978 and the late 1980s; 5) the government's belief that many of the Afghans who have entered Pakistan since mid-2000 are victims of drought, not refugees. (Afghanistan is in the midst of its worst drought in 30 years. See Refugee Reports, Vol. 22, No. 1.)

Muhammad Haroon Shaukat, director general of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, told Refugee Reports, "The poor state of our economy is well known. We are under a variety of sanctions by various countries over the nuclear issue ... . We have over $6 billion in loans that we must pay back. We are living through one of the toughest times we have ever faced. Our resources cannot stretch any farther.

Now we are at a stage where our government is no longer in a position to extend assistance to new arrivals."

Shaukat added, "Over the years, while our hospitality has continued uninterrupted, the attitude of the international community has changed. The so-called ‘donor fatigue' set in, and a sharp decline in the international community's commitment and assistance to Afghan refugees ensued."

The Pakistan government's change of attitude is already affecting recently arrived refugees, refugees living in urban centers, and the estimated 100,000 long-term residents of one of Pakistan's former "showcase" refugee camps, Nasir Bagh, near Peshawar. Some observers fear that the government's shift may eventually affect the 1.1 million long-term refugees living in other camps in Pakistan.

Pakistan's change of attitude, some observers note, should not come as a surprise. Since the mid-1990s, the international community has substantially reduced assistance to Afghan refugees. In 1995, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program (WFP) ended food aid to most refugee camp residents, some of whom subsequently migrated to the cities. The government of Pakistan claims that the refugees who moved to the cities have taken jobs from local people and caused rents to rise significantly. In addition, many of the nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) working with the refugees shifted the emphasis of their programs from care and maintenance of refugees in Pakistan to facilitating repatriation and helping returnees inside Afghanistan.

According to Shaukat, "In the past ... there was international assistance. Now we are on our own, but we do not have the resources left to assist the refugees. UNHCR assistance drops all the time, yet the refugees' needs remain. We are not receiving enough assistance to sustain the refugees. If donors have donor fatigue, then we have asylum fatigue. If donors' patience with the Afghan situation has run out, then so has ours."

Major Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid, joint secretary (for refugees) in the Ministry of States and Frontier Regions, added, "There is a saying that you can look after your brother and his family for a week, a month, a year. But at some point you have to ask him to help pay for the upkeep of both families, or to leave. We are not as cold-blooded as we appear to be. It's just that we have reached our limit."

UNHCR | Refworld | Afghan Refugees in Pakistan at Risk

[Luftwaffe]

Someone of you might not like it and I understand your sympathies with afghan refugees believe me I would want my neighbors to have a good life as well.

But look the reality is the funds Pakistan govt/UN offices receive for afghan refugees goes somewhere else more over something you people should know those funds are not enough (enough but yet not enough to feed 3 Million+ afghans, you can guess from what Pak Army gets for WOT, do you think the west cares about Pakistan's stability? they give you funds but little and that too goes the other way. Pakistan simply is not in position to help any longer.
Have you people thought about those affected from Azad Kashmir and N.W.F.P earth quake. Have you thought about thousands of our Pakistanis in swat and their gigantic problems, have you thought about how many locals in N.W.F.P (prefer to call it) have trouble finding jobs because of the aliens infiltration in local job market. I am guessing a big No.

Do you know in a survey 10-12 Years ago the population of afghans in Pakistan was approx 3.5 Million (on paper) I would assume 5 million.
Sympathies and brotherhood aside, we've to buildup our local economies as well and I assure you afghans do not pay taxes, they do not spend a dime back but fill their mansions with money and in their communities.

I deleted post.(real life example) but than I thought some might not like it.

And yes, they are not going anywhere from tribal.
PS. our people in Swat/Azad, Kashmir, and Peshawar are human beings, should they not be taken care of as first priority.

[Patriot]

Its not a good idea to deport afghanis provided there is huge chance of innocent afghan majority coming in the line of fire. Plus there should be a way to train these afghanis through skill developmental programs funded by UN so that they could be of any help to our country and Afghanistan if they return.
Throwing them out has reaginal implications.Once deported Digruntled, and disappointed Afghanis will easily be misguided by the elemnts hostile to Pakistan.Theres a security factor.
I am up for there registration.And there better contribution to the state of Pakistan. Though its hard but tits a strategic investment which will pay off decades later..!!!

Right - We should continue to suck up to the Afghans refugee despite the fact that they hate us even though the food they get is due to Pakistanis.As a matter of fact the help would be better for Baluchis or underdeveloped areas of Pakistan but of course the Ummah theory works for foreign Muslims only.

[su-47]

ok, i read all the posts in this thread so far, and as someone who is neither Pakistani nor Afghan, there are a few things that i am curious about.

1) If the Afghans are such a burden on Pakistani society, why didnt the Pak govt repatriate them in the 1990s, after the soviets withdrew?

2) Why do so many afghan refugees hate pakistan (i dunno if its true, just saying what some pak members said), when Pakistan gave them asylum?

3) What does the government plan to do with the Afghans who were born in Pakistan (as i understand, they are pakistani citizens)? will they be repatriated, or allowed to stay?

No intention of flaming or trolling here. Just curious to know more about the situation.

[RescueRanger]

What does the government plan to do with the Afghans who were born in Pakistan (as i understand, they are pakistani citizens)? will they be repatriated, or allowed to stay?

I can answer this one, technically because they are the children of refugees they have no status in Pakistan, their identity is null and void and reverts back to the identity of their parents origin.

But the fact is many have NICs and many even though only have refugee status have Pakistani nationality on paper at-least. Of course without a family number, domicile and B-Form it will be impossible for them to prove their nationality or domicile in Pakistan ( If challenged) .

If the Afghans are such a burden on Pakistani society, why didnt the Pak govt repatriate them in the 1990s, after the soviets withdrew?

Human decency and the fact that that the influx was 5+ million Afghan refugees in the beginning, at that time it was impossible to keep tabs on who was coming in when, not many stayed in the official muhajir camps and many went further afield, many were welcomed into trial clans. + you can add pressure from UNCHR + ends to a mean to this list as well.

Why do so many afghan refugees hate pakistan (i dunno if its true, just saying what some pak members said), when Pakistan gave them asylum?

Actually i can attest to this, having worked with Afghans that many have told me people in their country don't hold us in high esteem, despite all the work Pakistan has done for Afghanistan. Obviously there are those who admire Pakistan as a cousin and ally, there will always be two sides to a coin.

regarding repatriation, this is all just gas from Islamabad. Many do not want to go back, they have become part of Pakistan, thier children goto Pakistani schools, they do business in Pakistan and they are more Pakistani than Afghan.

Personally in my humble opinion, those who want to stay should have to sit a mandatory Pak-Studies test and swear an oath of allegiance, relinquish any dual nationality and i strongly belive that Pakistan should give such individuals who genuinely want to be in Pakistan, the NIC and all the rights and privileges of a Pakistani national.

[G W A D A R I]

Afghanistan is not a friendly country to pakistan even their government is somewhere responsible of blood shed in Pakistan helping India opening as much as Consultaes in Afghanistan even near to our borders. Everybody knows after opening these consultaes what is happening in Balochistan.

WHO KNOWS AFGHANS ARE AGENTS OF INDIA. (THINK ABOUT IT)

They are cheap labours / cheap killers / cheap arms smuglers / cheap theives / cheap .................................................. ........................ ..

They are not lovers of Pakistan who gave him shelter / money / food everthing - and 1 thing more they can not even imagine in Afghanistan - Peace, President Karzai has spent more than a decade in Quetta and once he said Pakistan is his 2nd home = what happend now, INDIA KI GHOD ME JA BETHA.

In my opinion if you need peace in your country let them go or kick them to go otherwise ?????????????????????????????????

[muse]

The real culprit is the US - it is the US that runs the show in Afghanistan, if they did want to see bad relations between Pakistan and India, wouldn't they have stopped the idea of the consulates in the first place -- India wants good relations and has "global" aspirations, don't balme them, just see who is pulling the strings.

[Abu Zolfiqar]

Thank goodness that was long overdue, I am sure Karzai can accommodate some of them in his palace.

On a serious note I believe half of our problems in FATA can be resolved if all of them are repatriated.

we have enough mouthes to feed!!

[Sparten80]

While we do need to deport those who registered and want to go home, we need to understand we allowed them to enter Pakistan in 1979 as well.

It is now our responsibility to accept them as well, those atleast that want to integrate, if they dont want to, they can be sent back.

According to UN statistics, nearly 60% of the refugees, aged 30 and below were born in pakistan and know only that Pakistan is their country.

We have not done a proper job in rehabilitating and integrating them into our beloved country Pakistan. Infact, there is no system in place.

We still havent learned from the mistakes we've made inthe past. Just look at the mess Karachi and interior Sindh is in as a result of us not rehabilitating people and indoctrining them into Pakistan through a proper procedure.

This is not an issue of money, but the issue of the job of a nation, its simply something that must be done.

A proper system would have better assimilated and given the tools to people to integrate in Pakistans diverse social dynamic.

Its done in every other country in the world, the system requires Centres to be established, a few symbolic facts about our country Pakistan need to be taught, learning of the national anthem, our motto, issuing an ID card etc...) while this may sound mundane, boring and even non-siginificant to many, the fact of the matter is, by just going through this process, you instill a sense of identity, of belonging and by default the process creates order and a better transition into society.

This lack of system is why you'll find certain segmants of the urdu speaking population to pakistan who have lived in Sindh for nearly 60 years who still cant speak a word of Sindhi, referring to themselves as hindostani and not fully accepted into the social fabric. i have met Urdu refugee families that live in Peshawer, that cant even speak a word of Pashto depite living there for 3 generations and still refer to themselves as hindostani. We should start deporting them as well.

We've had many ''communities'' with which we should have done this with, The millions of Kashmiri refugees, the Iranian refugees, the Goan refugees etc.. etc...

Here we are repeating the same thing again with the Afghan refugees. We ironically, welcomed them into our country, and left them in ''TEMPORARY'' camps not for a few years but for 30 years without any plan or system of rehabilitation or factoring in the fact that all those that live in the camps or elsewhere in pakistan that are 30 years or less, are technically Pakistani citizens and were born, have lived and know only Pakistan. In many cases, they know and have seen all parts of Pakistan better than many non-afghan Pakistani's. Furthermore, they are an important link connecting us and Afghanistan, they need our help and support. So while I do understand the knee jerk reaction to blame Afghans especially with all the nonsense that comes out of certain nationalistic sections of the Afghan community and with the indian propoganda, an important opportunity is being neglected by Pakistanis. Many of them are Pakistani's now. We have a fundamental obligation and right to give them full rights and be treated with respect and dignity. In saying this, I have so sympathy for any terrorist or collaborators, they should be punished severely, but I will not allow nor do I believe in collective punishment. Some of my best friends in Pakistan were Pakistani of Afghan decent, there parents had come as refugees to Pakistan, but they were for all intents and purpose, Pakistanis. I could count on them and the same was true vice-versa.

By simply casting them out, we are denying them of their birthright and as someone pointed out, allowing them to become paws and used by others. Which has been the case.

We need to integrate them better, learn from our past and evolve an effective system to do so.

[Sher Shah]

Afghanistan is not a friendly country to pakistan even their government is somewhere responsible of blood shed in Pakistan helping India opening as much as Consultaes in Afghanistan even near to our borders. Everybody knows after opening these consultaes what is happening in Balochistan.

WHO KNOWS AFGHANS ARE AGENTS OF INDIA. (THINK ABOUT IT)

They are cheap labours / cheap killers / cheap arms smuglers / cheap theives / cheap .................................................. ........................ ..

They are not lovers of Pakistan who gave him shelter / money / food everthing - and 1 thing more they can not even imagine in Afghanistan - Peace, President Karzai has spent more than a decade in Quetta and once he said Pakistan is his 2nd home = what happend now, INDIA KI GHOD ME JA BETHA.

In my opinion if you need peace in your country let them go or kick them to go otherwise ?????????????????????????????????

its because your country does not have a vested interest in a strong stable Afghanistan

Those same cheap thieves you dismissed gave a million of their people to fight the Soviets. I know your Propaganda machine probably gives all the credit to the ISI but read a book

If Pakistan wants to deport Afghan refugees, deport them from anywhere east of the Indus. West of the Indus? those refugees ARE home

[WebMaster]

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its because your country does not have a vested interest in a strong stable Afghanistan

Those same cheap thieves you dismissed gave a million of their people to fight the Soviets. I know your Propaganda machine probably gives all the credit to the ISI but read a book

If Pakistan wants to deport Afghan refugees, deport them from anywhere east of the Indus. West of the Indus? those refugees ARE home

Interesting that you still live in the 1940s.