
The closure of the consulate is the latest episode in a period of increasingly strained relations between the two countries. And it is the Nangarhar province of which Jalalabad is the capital that has been in the news, in particular. In November last, a Pakistani diplomat was shot dead outside his residence in Jalalabad. Last June, two Pakistani diplomats were kidnapped in Nangarhar while heading to Pakistan by road. Besides, Pakistan’s consulate in Jalalabad — the same that stands closed now — has witnessed anti-Pakistan rallies outside it. One of them came in September last when dozens of Afghans accused Pakistan of providing sanctuary to terrorists. Elsewhere in Afghanistan, Pakistan has been facing difficulties, especially in view of the increasing Indian presence in the war-torn country.
Contrary to the Afghan hostility for Pakistanis, Pakistan’s hospitality to the Afghans has been a matter of record. Pakistan has been playing host to millions of Afghan refugees since 1979. Nearly 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees are still residing in Pakistan, according to the UNHCR’s data, apart from more than 2.5 illegal immigrants from the hostile neighbour.
Published in The Express Tribune, September 2nd, 2018.
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