Negative effects: Returning Afghan refugees may weaken country’s economy

Afghan businessmen pay $0.4m in tax annually to Pakistan, says CAR

PESHAWAR:

Around 500,000 registered and unregistered Afghan refugees are residing in various places across Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa, stated data issued by the K-P Home and Tribal Affairs department. The data was collected following the Army Public School attack in Peshawar in December 2014, and was released in 2016.

An official from the Commissionerate Afghan Refugees (CAR) Peshawar confirmed the data.

He said a large number of Afghan refugees was running big businesses in the country. “These include 22 wealthy people who are running their billion-rupee businesses in Pakistan and other countries,” he told The Express Tribune.

The official said annually these Afghan businessmen pay $0.4 million in taxes to the government of Pakistan. “The immediate return of Afghans will affect the markets and economy of Pakistan,” he added.

Let the numbers talk

Roughly 200,000 refugees own vehicles while nearly 0.9 million registered and unregistered refugees run their own businesses across the province. Data shows a large number of Afghan refugees reside in Khyber Bazaar, Qissa Khwani, Shoba Bazaar, Board Bazaar, Zaryab Colony, Yakatoot, Ring Road, Hayatabad, Tehkal Bala, Kacha Ghari, Bashirabad and other areas of Peshawar district. These refugees are engaged in various kinds of businesses, including carpets, clothes and electronics. Some run import and export, and currency exchange businesses.

The home department statistics reveal 400 schools for Afghan refugees exist across K-P. The number of Afghan doctors in the province has reached 9,000; a majority run clinics in Board Bazaar. Many of the refugees are said to own houses and hold Pakistani National Identity Cards (NIC). Many have made illegal Pakistani identity cards as they consider themselves Pakistanis.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 29^th, 2016.