It would promote peace and prosperity in and of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region
ISLAMABAD: Afghan refugees in Pakistan are mostly immigrants. The definition of a refugee implies that a person is engaging in temporary stay in a foreign land. Many Afghans who came to Pakistan due to war stayed here even when the war in their country was reduced to conflict only. Due to a lack of border management, many of them were migrants and allowed to freely move between Pakistan and Afghanistan. This became obvious as recent border management by Pakistan is a factor that motivated many Afghans to return to their country. However, many Afghans intended to be immigrants. Some of them managed to acquire fake Pakistani identity cards. They looked to Pakistan’s greener pastures.
Irrespective of their status, their stay is now highly problematic for them as well as for Pakistanis. Pakistani authorities should facilitate their honourable return and settlement. It may be recalled that Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif promised to supply wheat for three years to camps in Afghanistan for those who returned to their country. Exceptions for repatriation are also being considered.
Pakistan is the only country in the world that has hosted a large number of citizens from a hostile country that did not recognise a large part of its border. Even governments of Afghanistan that were friendly towards Pakistan refused to accept the validity of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border. In view of this position, it is in the national interest of Pakistan that its Afghan residents should return to Afghanistan. Such a movement would increase prospects of better relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It would promote peace and prosperity in and of the Afghanistan-Pakistan region, which has been suffering for a long time due to cross-border movements of terrorists. There was the option for these terrorists to pose as refugees to come wreak havoc.
Taraq Jazy
Published in The Express Tribune, November 26th, 2016.
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