Callousness or incompetence?
Under the existing law Afghan refugees having lived here for more than three decades can not be forcibly repatriated
The writer has served as ambassador to Afghanistan and is a former interior secretary. The views expressed are his own
Sharbat Gula, the green-eyed Afghan refugee girl shot to fame in 1985 when her picture appeared on the cover of National Geographic magazine. Like many countless other displaced persons she had to endure endless agony and suffering in her troubled life as a refugee.
Sharbat Gula’s father and mother both got killed by Soviet warplanes bombs while she was a child of six or seven years. Having lost her husband due to Hepatitis C, she also had to find means of supporting her three orphan children. Her travails never seemed to end. Having sought shelter in Pakistan in the early 1980s, most Afghan refugees including Sharbat Gula have been travelling back and forth between K-P and their villages in Afghanistan — for meeting relatives, looking after their lands etc.
Because it was not possible to either seek employment or engage in any trade or business or open a bank account without possessing a Pakistani Identity card ,many Afghans resorted to acquiring such identity cards in order to be able to live in this country with their families .
Under the existing law Afghan refugees having lived here for more than three decades can not be forcibly repatriated. Under the Citizenship Act all those who have lived here for so long have become entitled to citizenship of this country. Under section 4 of the Citizenship Act of 1951 those born on Pakistani territory acquire citizenship automatically. In addition, Afghan refugees have also the protection of the Naturalisation Act of 1926 which confers the right of citizenship by naturalisation on those having lived here for such a long time. There are other provisions in law which would entitle any refugee having lived here peacefully for so long, to have the right to obtain Pakistani citizenship .
Such Afghan refugees then have the right to obtain Pakistani Identity cards and thousands have availed themselves of this facility because there were huge obstacles that could only be overcome if one possessed some sort of Pakistani identity. Sharbat Gula was no exception. She also proceeded to obtain Pakistani identity card. But for her hell broke loose.
Disregarding the law, the principles of international law, the moral dimension and the policy that provides protection to Afghan refugees the Government Agency detained Sharbat Gula and made a mockery of Pakistan’s policy of having provided shelter to refugees for more than 37 years. It was not realised that the detainee is a woman, a widow and mother of three daughters living under extremely adverse economic and social conditions. All these values or norms were thrown to the wind in a display of unforgivable callousness and sheer professional incompetence. Even the provincial authorities were found wanting in coming to the help of a poor victim of governmental atrocity.
In a country that boasts of having provided asylum to hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees for so long, such disgraceful incidents cast a gloom, spread uncertainty, cause more hatred and acrimony and bring bad name to the country. No heads would in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan!
It is these policies that have helped destroy whatever goodwill Pakistan had in the hearts and minds of Afghans. Would anyone care to reappraise this policy or whether the madness would continue?
By arresting a poor widow and moving her around in courts what has the country gained? Hatred of Afghans and of the international community. A pathetic commentary on the state of our institutions.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2016.
Sharbat Gula’s father and mother both got killed by Soviet warplanes bombs while she was a child of six or seven years. Having lost her husband due to Hepatitis C, she also had to find means of supporting her three orphan children. Her travails never seemed to end. Having sought shelter in Pakistan in the early 1980s, most Afghan refugees including Sharbat Gula have been travelling back and forth between K-P and their villages in Afghanistan — for meeting relatives, looking after their lands etc.
Because it was not possible to either seek employment or engage in any trade or business or open a bank account without possessing a Pakistani Identity card ,many Afghans resorted to acquiring such identity cards in order to be able to live in this country with their families .
Under the existing law Afghan refugees having lived here for more than three decades can not be forcibly repatriated. Under the Citizenship Act all those who have lived here for so long have become entitled to citizenship of this country. Under section 4 of the Citizenship Act of 1951 those born on Pakistani territory acquire citizenship automatically. In addition, Afghan refugees have also the protection of the Naturalisation Act of 1926 which confers the right of citizenship by naturalisation on those having lived here for such a long time. There are other provisions in law which would entitle any refugee having lived here peacefully for so long, to have the right to obtain Pakistani citizenship .
Such Afghan refugees then have the right to obtain Pakistani Identity cards and thousands have availed themselves of this facility because there were huge obstacles that could only be overcome if one possessed some sort of Pakistani identity. Sharbat Gula was no exception. She also proceeded to obtain Pakistani identity card. But for her hell broke loose.
Disregarding the law, the principles of international law, the moral dimension and the policy that provides protection to Afghan refugees the Government Agency detained Sharbat Gula and made a mockery of Pakistan’s policy of having provided shelter to refugees for more than 37 years. It was not realised that the detainee is a woman, a widow and mother of three daughters living under extremely adverse economic and social conditions. All these values or norms were thrown to the wind in a display of unforgivable callousness and sheer professional incompetence. Even the provincial authorities were found wanting in coming to the help of a poor victim of governmental atrocity.
In a country that boasts of having provided asylum to hundreds of thousands of Afghan refugees for so long, such disgraceful incidents cast a gloom, spread uncertainty, cause more hatred and acrimony and bring bad name to the country. No heads would in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan!
It is these policies that have helped destroy whatever goodwill Pakistan had in the hearts and minds of Afghans. Would anyone care to reappraise this policy or whether the madness would continue?
By arresting a poor widow and moving her around in courts what has the country gained? Hatred of Afghans and of the international community. A pathetic commentary on the state of our institutions.
Published in The Express Tribune, November 10th, 2016.