Caught in limbo: Registered Afghan nationals complain of police harassment

No directions to arrest documented refugees: Office of Peshawar DC

PESHAWAR:

As the government mulls whether to offer a six-month extension on Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, many registered Afghan refugees who possess the necessary documents have complained of police harassment.

Zakirullah, 35, who works in Board Bazaar, told The Express Tribune on Saturday the police arrested him a week ago.

“I have a PoR card and showed it to the police,” he said. “But they tell me it has expired.” The law-enforcement agencies demanded Rs10,000 from Zakirullah and ultimately released him in exchange for Rs5,000. “I urged the government and UNHCR resolve the PoR issue as police are harassing registered individuals and demanding bribes,” he said.

Gul Rehman, another refugee, who runs a cloth shop in Khyber Bazaar, said the police harass him whenever he travels in the city even though the government has allowed him extra time to remain in the country.

“The police should arrest those residing in the country illegally, but not poor refugees with proof of registration,” he said. According to Rehman, thousands of registered Afghans run their business in the city and it is difficult for them to suddenly pack and leave.

Where the heart is

For some Afghans, Pakistan is the only home they know.  Nabi Jan, a teenage student of a government high school in Peshawar, said his parents left Afghanistan 30 years ago. “I grew up here and have a number of friends. How can I go to back to Afghanistan where all things are strange for me?” he said. He is currently in 10th grade and wants to continue his studies in Pakistan. The student says he will never leave Pakistan.

The other view

When contacted, the Peshawar deputy commissioner’s spokesperson claims his office has not issued any directions to arrest registered Afghan refugees. However, he added the police are arresting all unregistered refugees who are unable to provide documents and are living in the city.

The Peshawar police have arrested over 1,200 unregistered Afghan refugees in different parts of the city and sealed their businesses.

Undocumented

According to the UNHCR’s latest data, around 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees are living in different parts of the country. However, the vast majority—a million people—are living in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

A K-P Home and Tribal Affairs department official, requesting anonymity, told The Express Tribune a million undocumented Afghan refugees are living in the tribal areas.

He says the K-P government ordered all district administrations to collect data on illegal refugees after the Army Public School massacre in Peshawar on December 16, 2014.

“However, even those with the necessary documents wind up behind bars,” he added.

Backdrop

PoR cards – the single most important document for Afghan refugees – were set to expire at the end of 2015. However, after the federal government granted a six-month extension, those Afghans who had registered but were not immediately prepared to return to their native country, thought they could breathe a sigh of relief.

That was right up to the point many of them were rounded up and put behind bars.

Awaiting extension

On the other hand, the government is mulling over extending the PoR cards’ validity. UNHCR hopes such an extension is good to last till the end of 2017, but for the time being registered refugees have an additional six months.

Speaking to The Express Tribune, UNHCR Spokesperson Dunya Islam Khan said the government has granted a six-month extension. “The UNHCR and the government of Afghanistan requested Pakistani authorities for a two-year extension on the PoR cards during a tripartite commission meeting on August 21, 2015 in Kabul,” she added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2016.