Asif Hameed
According to United Nations High Commission for Refugees, the number of Afghanis living in Pakistan for 36 years is more than 15 lacs and they are still unable to go back to their home country. However, the Afghans residents are of the view that they have been living in Pakistan for so many years and have permanently settled their businesses and houses here. The increasing number of refugees across the globe could pose a big threat for the globe and international community should play its vital role to resolve this issue.
Experts view that due to the unrest in the different countries in the world the refugees figure has tremendously increased and respective countries are facing huge economic and social problems, while Pakistan is hosting a large number of refugees from 37 years, which instead of being appreciated and well recognized at international arena has never got the attention of the world community. Pakistan became the front line savior of the countries, who are now feeling the cost and amount of sacrifice which is required to accommodate the nominal number of refugees as compared to the millions of Afghan refugees being supported and accommodated by Pakistan for decades. The growing number of displacement globally and shrinking humanitarian funding has adversely affected Pakistan, who has been hosting the world largest protracted refugee population. UNHCR’S annual Global Trends Report indicates that Pakistan with 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees remains among the world’s leading refugee hosting countries. Percent of register Afghan refugees are 2nd or 3rd generation born and raised in Pakistan. Globally one in six of the refugees under UNHCR care were from Afghanistan 2.7 million people where almost 1.2 million people internally displaced. According to the UNHCR’s GTR report 65.5 million people were displaced as of the end of 2015, compared to 59.5 million just twelve months earlier.
The mostly unchecked activities and movement of Afghan refugees, due to their large presence in Pakistan is becoming a high security risk, as it is difficult to separate extremist elements: who live in the disguise of refugees. It is high time that they are sent back, they are required to be adjusted in their own country. Since Pakistan joined the war on terror, Pakistan suffered heavily in men and material, yet Afghan government always blame Pakistan for any terror act in Afghanistan, which is by and large the responsibility of their Security forces and its their ultimate failure to curb the increasing and deteriorating security situation in Afghanistan.
Last year, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) had requested Pakistan to review its December 31, 2015 deadline for the repatriation of Afghan refugees from the country. Security experts believe that the time has come that international community should focus on repatriation of Afghan refugees to Afghanistan. The US/NATO and Afghan government had entered into a strategic treaty through signing of Bilateral Security Agreement (BSA). In this milieu it should have also been binding on both sides to resolve the issue of millions of Afghan Refugees (ARs). The UN and its subsidiary organizations like UNHCR must come forward to take up the matter with the US, NATO and EU member countries to arrange repatriation of ARs to their homeland. In the overview of 2015 UNHCR country operations profile Afghanistan, it was anticipated that the newly-formed national unity Government would create an enabling environment for sustainable return of Afghan refugees.
It is pertinent to mention that, officially, the year 2015 marked the end of the agreement that Pakistan had with Afghanistan and the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR). In this regards, the UNHCR and international community must help the Afghan government in creating necessary environment inside Afghanistan so that these people can return.
But instead of taking action, Brussels-based International Crisis Group (ICG) had advised Pakistan to ease the insecure lives of the millions of Afghan refugees on its territory. It asked Pakistan to sign and ratify the 1951 Refugees Convention and its 1967 Protocol; and that it should enact a national law for refugees codifying long-term protection and rights. International community should realize that for more than three decades, the government and the people of Pakistan have accommodated these refugees who are settled throughout Pakistan. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR), some 1.6 million Afghans are legally residing in Pakistan, having been granted proof of registration (PoR) by the U.N. body. More than twice that number is believed to be unlawfully dwelling in Pakistan, primarily in the northern tribal belt that borders Afghanistan. Besides, UNHCR should make arrangements to repatriate Afghan refugees to relieve burden on Pakistan.
The UNHCR has been opposing forced return of the refugees and insists that Islamabad should go for voluntary repatriation of Afghans. Recently the Afghan leader Dr Abdullah Abdullah appreciated the voluntary repatriation of about 60,000 Afghan refugees to Afghanistan and boasted it as a victory to their government that Afghans trust them and in their country for better future and prosperity, which is a very positive sign and implies that its high time that Afghan refugees must be repatriated to their home country Afghanistan.Pakistan is host to 1.5 million PoR card holders, their date expired on Dec 31, 2015, which had been extended to June 30 2016. They constitute the world’s largest protracted refugee population under the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mandate in a single country. In addition, according to Pakistan government estimates, there are about 1 million undocumented Afghans residing in Pakistan. Pakistan has been trying to help Afghanistan in the peace process which could also be helpful in creating the required environment of rehabilitation of Afghan refugees, but Afghan governments have never appreciated the efforts and always blamed Pakistan for turbulence or any terror attack in Afghanistan. Keeping in view the hard line stance against Pakistan by the Afghan government, our government should negotiate a respectful mechanism of their return to Afghanistan.
