Expulsion From Pakistan
"The ministry [Kabul Ministry of Commerce and Industry] invites the private sector to take action because of the profound humanitarian disaster caused by the forced migration of hundreds of thousands of the poor and needy.""It is the duty of Islam and Afghans to stand up for their fellow countrymen."Ministry of Commerce and Industry"Today, we said goodbye to 64 Afghan nationals as they began their journey back home.""This action is a testament to Pakistan's determination to repatriate any individuals residing in the country without proper documentation."Pakistan's interior minister"We believe many of those facing deportation will be at grave risk of human rights violations if returned to Afghanistan, including arbitrary arrest and detention, torture, cruel and other inhuman treatment.""Those at particular risk are: civil society activists, journalists, human rights defenders, former government officials and security force members, and of course women and girls as a whole, who, as a result of the abhorrent policies currently in place in Afghanistan, are banned from secondary and tertiary education, working in many sectors and other aspects of daily and public life."Ravina Shamdasani, spokesperson, U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights
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| Afghan refugees wait at the Torkham Pakistan-Afghanistan border to be transferred to a camp near the border, in Torkham, Afghanistan, Friday, Nov. 3, 2023. A huge number of Afghan refugees entered the Torkham border to return home hours before the expiration of a Pakistani government deadline for those who are in the country illegally to leave or face deportation. (AP Photo/Ebrahim Noroozi) |
Pakistan's government gave official notice to 1.7 million Afghan refugees living in the country that they must vacate the country, voluntarily at best, forcibly should they remain past November 1st. Any who fail to leave of their own volition will face arrest and forced deportation. Landlords have been warned they must avoid renting to undocumented Afghan refugees or themselves face arrest and fines. Afghans who have lived in Pakistan for decades -- some as long as 40 years -- and who have made their homes in Pakistan feel lost and fearful for their future.
The Taliban, it seems, has raised the wrath of the Pakistan authorities who claim they are responsible for a rash of suicide bombings and that they shelter those who commit violence in Pakistan. The Afghan Taliban deny any such charges, and warn Pakistan that this move to expel the refugees will damage the two countries' relations. Pakistan is, after all, responsible for the rise of the Afghan Taliban; they trained, armed and supported them.
It didn't take long before Pakistan had to face the reality that in giving haven to the Taliban and al-Qaeda and bin Laden, their own Taliban took inspiration and became a threat to Pakistan. In deliberately seeking to destabilize Afghanistan by promoting the ascendancy by violence of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan (Taliban) over the democratically elected and NATO-US supported Afghan government, Pakistan's Islamist-Taliban factions present a challenge to Pakistan.
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Pakistan's simplistic reaction is to arrest and expel all foreigners illegally in the country, but the 'foreigners' they target are Afghans, the largest group of undocumented foreigners that Pakistan holds. It's a dire situation for the refugees who have long settled in Pakistan, escaping from the conflict that roiled their country for decades on end. Clearly, Afghanistan under the Taliban lacks the resources needed to house and feed all these refugees returning home under force.
In Afghanistan the Taliban leadership that has forced the country into its fanatical view of pure Islam, losing Western financial aid in the process and struggling to administer the needs of the country, lack adequate resources to deal with the 250,000 Afghans that have so far left before the October 31 deadline imposed by Pakistan. As they anticipate that number to grow exponentially, they are unable to provide the returnees with food, shelter and health care. Leading them to appeal to Afghans with the means to give aid.
As hundreds of thousands of poor and needy Afghans return home, entering the Torkham border they are met by senior Taliban officials, shaking hands and being welcomed home to the temporary camps. Tens of thousands more head off from Pakistan to border areas in the fear of facing detention and deportation. Pakistan security forces go door-to-door in their search for undocumented foreigners.
Two years ago, it was the victorious Taliban in Kabul who were going door-to-door to root out Afghan citizens who had worked for the NATO-led foreign diplomats and military, also looking for Afghan members of the former military under the previous government the Taliban had routed. Now, foreign aid agencies scramble teams to the country's border areas attempting to deliver humanitarian aid to Afghan refugees forced to return home.
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| Pakistani media outlets have reported on the widespread
expulsion of Afghan citizens, revealing that in just under a month, over
160,000 Afghan migrants have been forced to leave. Khaama Press News Agency |
Labels: Afghan Refugees, Afghan Taliban Government, Humanitarian Aid, Pakistan Expulsion
posted by Pieface @ Monday, November 06, 2023
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