If Iran can do it, why Pakistan can’t do it?

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the number of Afghan refugees returning home from Iran has doubled recently as Iranian currency loses its value against dollar unprecedentedly. IOM statistics show that between 8,000 to 10,000 undocumented Afghan return home from Iran every day. IOM says the main reason behind the increase of returnees from Iran is the economic crisis in Iran that has loomed following new US sanctions on Tehran. Kazim Elham, head of border returnees department at IOM, has said 429,845 refugees from Iran and 23,301 refugees from Pakistan have been deported or voluntary returned.” A senior official from Iran’s Foreign Ministry has said three millions of Afghan refugees will be expelled from Iran if the sanctions on Tehran are increased. If sanctioned Iran can do it, why Pakistan which is facing unprecedented economic crisis can’t do it?
The Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Sayed Abbas Araghchi said Iran would ask the Afghan refugees to go home if sanctions are increased, adding that about two million Afghan refugees are working in Iran, who annually send three to five billion Euros to Afghanistan. Araghchi said: “468,000 Afghan students are getting education freely in Iranian schools and every student costs 600 Euros on an average basis.” He said that 23,000 Afghan students are enrolled in Iranian universities and Iran invests nearly 15,000 Euros for them annually. “When the US sanctions leave impacts and Iran’s financial resources are reduced and the sale of oil reaches to zero, when our oil revenues are decreased, they must know that in that case, Iran will be compelled to take fresh policies for its economy. It is worth mentioning that against repatriation of 429845 Afghan refugees only 23301 refugees have been repatriated from Pakistan in the recent past.
In Pakistan, the UN refugee agency’s voluntary repatriation programme for registered Afghan refugees was resumed on 1st March 2019 after the winter break. The voluntary repatriation operation had been suspended for the winter period from 1 December 2018 until 28 February 2019. UNHCR will facilitate repatriation from the voluntary repatriation centres at Azakhel, Nowshera in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Baleli, Quetta in Balochistan. Pakistan continues to host 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees who are holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. Around 4.4 million Afghan refugees have returned to Afghanistan under the UNHCR-facilitated voluntary repatriation programme since 2002. The Proof of Registration card allows Afghan refugees the right to temporary legal stay in Pakistan. “While voluntary repatriation is a preferred solution for the majority of Afghan refugees, it needs to be well-informed, voluntary, safe and dignified,” said Ms. Ruvendrini Menikdiwela, UNHCR Representative in Pakistan.
As the year 2019 marks the 40 years of the Afghan displacement, Ms. Menikdiwela reiterated her call to the international community to help enhance Afghanistan’s absorption capacity and provide targeted development assistance in high return areas in Afghanistan for sustainable reintegration of returnees. She also called for support to Afghan refugees and their host communities. She also reaffirmed UNHCR’s commitment to work with the Governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan on long-term solutions for 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan. UNHCR provides approximately USD200 to every registered individual upon their return to Afghanistan. Returnees receive the cash grant at UNHCR encashment centres in Afghanistan. In view of Pakistan’s critical economic situation, there is no point in extending dates for repatriation of Afghan refugees on the request of UNHCR or Afghanistan, as Pakistan has been extending dates since 2015. This should end now.