Pashtun nationalist parties join the bandwagon

Concerns voiced about forced expulsion of Afghan families


Qaiser Butt January 13, 2015
A file photo of Afghan refugees. PHOTO: REUTERS

ISLAMABAD: Political groupings in Balochistan have ramped up pressure on the federal government to repatriate Afghan refugees who have been living in the province for decades.

Most recently, Pashtun nationalist parties have joined the chorus of voices calling for a voluntary repatriation process contrary to the expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan – a demand Baloch nationalist parties have consistently raised in the past.

One such voice emerged from the ruling Pashtoonkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) in the province, which has been grappling with poilitcal unrest and lawlessness and violence.

Akram Shah, the party’s central secretary general, emphasised that the “recent presidential elections in Afghanistan indicate that the situation is conducive for the return of refugees.” Shah urged the displaced families to voluntarily return to their country.

The statement by the PkMAP leader marks an unusual shift from the party’s stance, which in the past has strongly opposed demands for the return of Afghan refugees to their country.

On the other hand, a senior leader of Awami National Party (ANP), Haji Ghulam Ahmed Bilour insisted that Afghan refugees should be allowed to decide if they wish to return to their country. However, the ANP leader strongly opposed the repatriation against the will of the refugees.

While political parties bicker over the repatriation process, Malik Anwarul Haq Kakar, a senior analyst, suggested that the presence of these refugees in Balochistan threatens PkMAP and Baloch nationalist forces as the electoral landscape in the province has changed due to their presence.

‘’This change is against their political interests and in favour of their rivals, Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) and Jamiat-e-Ulema Islam- ideology (JUI- I),” Kakar said.

Both PkMAP and Baloch nationalists believe that the refugees have strengthened the vote bank of their opponents,” the analyst added.

Circuitously aligning with Kakar’s views on the situation, JUI-F spokesperson Jan Achakzai advised that registered refugees should be repatriated amicably. “Forcing the refugees to return to their country might cause serious embarrassment for Pakistan,” he said.

Issuing a veiled warning, the JUI-F spokesperson said it would not be an easy task to force the displaced families to return to Afghanistan as all those who are registered have become naturalized citizens of Pakistan after being in the country for over three decades.

Towing the same line, Qaumi Watan Party (QWP) President Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao also opposed the expulsion of Afghan refugees. ‘’Their return should be honorable and in a dignified manner,” Sherpao said.

Without outlining a solution for the humanitarian crisis that has gripped the nation for more than three decades, the QWP supremos said that the Afghan refugees entered the country under an agreement between Pakistan and United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) and are entitled to stay till December 2015.

Millions of Afghans fled to Pakistan between 1979 and 2002. A majority of them have returned since 2001, attracted by the promise of a post-Taliban Afghanistan. As that transition proved rocky, many fled back to Pakistan. During the decade-long US-led war that followed after 2001, the allure of home dimmed for many Afghan families, forcing many of them to permanently stay in Pakistan.

According to Kakar, who is also a member of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League – Nawaz, a large number of Afghans now own movable and immovable properties across Pakistan. Reinforcing the idea of repatriating Afghan families peacefully, he said that they would never return to their country as they have established their lives in Pakistan

Similarly, ANP (Wali) central secretary general Aurangzeb Kasi cautioned that the deportation of refugees might create a serious law and order situation in the country.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 13th, 2015.

COMMENTS (3)

s&w magazines | 8 years ago | Reply It's not that I want to copy your internet site, but I really like the design and style. Could you tell me which style are you using? Or was it especially designed?
Sayed Karim | 9 years ago | Reply

Dear Brother,

I am an Afghan and was born here in Pakistan in 1982 and has been done my graduation in computer science, just went to Afghanistan once or twice.

Currently I have an established business here and also paying tax to Pak government then how it will be possible for me to go to another country and easily resettle there?

Regards

Sayed

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