PESHAWAR, August 17: Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Pervez Khattak has ordered the formation of a committee comprising representatives of home, police, special branch, education, Brick kiln and Afghan refugees to look into the complaints of the refugees and resolve their general problems. Rustam Shah Mohammand will be a coordinator and head the committee.
He was talking to a 15-member delegation of Afghan refugees led by Rustam Shah Mohammand at CM Secretariat here Wednesday.
Chief Minister categorically stated that the basic problems is the unregistered foreigners which is the jurisdiction of federal government. He raised this issue several times at relevant forums. Now funds have been released and the federal government has communicated to start the registration of Afghan refugees in October. The Afghan government needed to take up this issue with our federal government, he added.
Pervez Khattak said that we should understand that the world has changed now even citizens of their own country carry necessary legal documents. In our country even a Pakistani cannot travel without any identity cards. All countries have laws for the foreigners and these are followed. The Afghan refugees who are registered would be treated under the law of the land and his government would resolve their genuine problems.
Chief Minister assured that our Police has emerged as a true professional force and they wouldn’t tease the Afghan refugees. Still if there are some complaints and those are genuine then the government would resolve them. He said that Afghan Refugees is an international and national issue and under the UN charter all such agreements are to be implemented by federal government. The role of province is limited but the federal government can make any decision in this regard. ‘I have risen this issue at different forum and at different times. We have law & order situation and some other challenges and addressing to them is in our best interest, he added.’ Regarding Torkham and other border areas, the Chief Minister said that it is the jurisdiction of federal government and we cannot make any decision in this regard.-PR
