Unceremonious departure: heavy-hearted Afghans look to the motherland

Many of them know nothing about their home country where uncertainty awaits

PESHAWAR: Those in the seats of power in Islamabad may have once declared Pakistan and Afghanistan as one body with two hearts, but recent actions from local authorities indicate anything but that.

The lives of thousands of Afghans have been turned on their heads with the recent government crackdown against refugees. Many of these people are completely unaware of the geopolitical and socioeconomic conditions of their motherland as they were born, raised and educated in Pakistan.

There were stumbling blocks in the volunteer repatriation process after signing of the Geneva Accord in April 1988. However, conditions became more suitable for Afghans to return after Taliban regime was ousted and empowerment of former president Hamid Karzai at the end of 2001.

According to UNHCR’s data, over 3.8 million Afghans have returned under the voluntary repatriation scheme, not only from Pakistan, but also  Iran and other countries. However, nearly the same number, or three million Afghans, are still scattered in all four provinces, Gilgit-Baltistan and Azad Kashmir.

Circumstances for the refugees have changed over the years. Gone are the days when the Mujahideen were called defenders of Pakistan’s western borders from the Russians or when military dictator General Ziaul Haq called his country the second motherland for Afghans. General Pervez Musharraf (retd), another dictator, even justified the Taliban rule in Afghanistan, saying they were Pukhtuns with a right to govern the country.

At one point or another, most leaders and chiefs of religious parties and other stakeholders have followed the suit of these military rulers in their links and relations with the neighbouring country.

However, 2007 was when things took a turn for the worse and there has been little going back.

Regardless, those from the neighbouring country seeking refuge in Pakistan have long been detained, humiliated and even terrorised. Some were branded spies, others communists and there were those called terrorists by law-enforcement agencies. Sadly, many of these officials’ actions were for the sole purpose of making a quick buck.

This money-minting scheme of officials has now completed four decades.

However, such trends gained more momentum after the February 2008 general elections. Personnel of police and other law-enforcement agencies started crackdown on Afghan nationals through various methods.

Beside detention, many were forcibly deported under Section 14 of the foreigners act. Now, such actions are at their peak and most Afghans, either registered or residing illegally, have made up their mind to return. However, they go back to the motherland with a heavy heart.

As many of these people and their future generations have been in Pakistan for the last four decades, they are now well aware of the country’s dynamics. However, life on the other side of the border is a journey into the unknown.

In Pakistan, thousands are associated with established businesses and economic activities through which they earned a livelihood. Now, all of that must be left behind.

Azam, who is 12-year-old Aamir’s father, has been earning daily wages as a worker in Pakistan. The man and his family live in a rented mud house in the Gulabad, Gulberg in Peshawar. With a heavy heart, Aamir has to sell his beloved chicks, commonly known as Qoolangi.

He has to leave many of his other belongings back in Pakistan as well due to the fact that his parents are residing in the country illegally.

“I am unaware that my parent’s native village is across the border. I never visited, but heard stories,” Aamir said. “I am studying at a local school and have played on these streets, but now my parents asked me to accompany them to Afghanistan.”

The case is similar for thousands of other children and youngsters who are born and educated in Pakistan.

Most Afghans, regardless of their background and social standing, have praised Pakistan and its people. Present ruler Ashraf Ghani and former President Hamid Karzai have appreciated Pakistanis for their unprecedented support for refugees at a crucial time.

However, it seems the hospitality has run out as detentions, imprisonments and deportations are the order of the day for the remaining refugees.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, July 25^th, 2016.