Afghan refugees’ stay: Pakistan all set to grant fourth extension

ISLAMABAD:

Despite domestic security concerns, the Government of Pakistan is all set to give another extension of stay to millions of Afghan refugees. The current framework under which Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan will be expiring today (December 31).

Pakistan has so far given three extensions to the refugees. The last one for a period of three years, which was approved by prime minister Yousuf Raza Gillani led federal cabinet in 2012, has expired now.



“Deadline for the return of Afghan refugees is expiring tomorrow. We would have to give an extension,” Interior Minister Chaudhry Nisar Ali Khan said on Wednesday while briefing upper house of the parliament on status of implementation of 20-point National Action Plan (NAP) against terrorism.

It is estimated that more than three million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan, making the country a host of one of the largest refugee population in the world. It is likely that government will allow these refugees to stay in Pakistan, who would have government issued ‘proof of registration (PoR)’ cards.

Since the government started mechanism to properly document these refugees, around 1.5 million Afghan refugees got themselves registered and attained the PoR cards. It is estimated that more than two million Afghans are still living illegally without these cards.

It is believed that thousands of affluent Afghan refugees have become citizens of Pakistan by attaining CNICs.

These refugees, who had started coming in late 70s after Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, are scattered throughout Pakistan but majority of them is living in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) and Balochistan provinces where they share the same culture and language.

The issue of assimilation of Afghan refugees in big numbers in Pashtoon areas of Balochistan is leading towards another ethnic tension in the restive province. Return of illegally living refugees to Afghanistan was one of the points in the NAP but little progress has been made on this front.

Various programmes for voluntary repatriation of Afghan refugees have failed. Since January this year around 60,000 people from amongst the 1.5 million registered refugees returned under UNHCR sponsored programme.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 31^st, 2015.