Despite announcement by the federal government, Afghan refugees in Peshawar are not willing to return to their homeland by December 31, 2012 deadline.
“Our people are more comfortable here and we have established our businesses here... to leave Pakistan is impossible for us,” said Sardar Wali, who hails from Afghanistan’s Ningahar province. Working at a carpet shop in Karkhano Market, he said that while Afghanistan was their elders’ homeland, Pakistan is the homeland for his generation, adding that he was not ready to leave it.
Sardar’s family migrated to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) in 1980 during the Russian invasion of Afghanistan and settled at the Shamshato Camp.
“I was born and brought up in K-P, this is my hometown,” he maintained. Sardar claimed he felt like an alien when he visited Afghanistan.
“No one knew me,” he said.
Afghan carpet merchant Yousaf said a large number of shopkeepers and businessmen started their business in very difficult conditions.
UNHCR Pakistan spokesperson Dunya Aslam Khan told The Express Tribune that currently 1.7 million registered Afghan refugees lived in Pakistan and estimated over a million more were living here unregistered. One million registered refugees live in K-P. She said that so far around seven million had willingly returned to Afghanistan.
Talking about the December 31 deadline, she said that according to Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar, the repatriation of refugees would only be voluntary. “Afghan refugees that take part in the voluntary repatriation programme are given $150 per person in order to cover transportation costs and initial costs of settling back home.” Each family will also be given a card that guarantees them financial aid in Afghanistan.
Afghan Refugees Commissioner Syed Zaheerul Islam, however, said that after December 31 every Afghan national living in Pakistan would be doing so illegally. He said that voluntary repatriation began on May 25 this year and a large number of Afghans returned to their country.
District Coordination Officer Javed Marwat said police have begun searching for illegal foreigners. He also said that the government, Afghan Commissionerate and UNCHR would hold a meeting soon to decide the future of the refugees. The DCO hoped the government would find a mutually beneficial way to return the Afghans to their country.
Published in The Express Tribune, August 13th, 2012.
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@Ajil_khan - so now you claim the whole country you still hate is yours! This story has been going around many years now. Pakistan used to part of India and british india had land from Afghanistan! Reality is this peice of land is called - PAKISTAN. like or hate it, its going to stay here! By your definition Israel right in occupying Palestine land because they say it belonged to them in biblical times!
I dont know why - if you hate Pakistan and still want to live here? There is no harm giving citizenship to people who were born here, love and wish to stay in Pakistan!
Send them all back all they do is steal rob and make problems for Pakistan it's about time they understand Afghanistan is your home do good bye good luck and close tvd door behind you
Stop sending us bombs, Taliban and Alqaeda, then you will be loved. Punjabies are about to lose Baluchistan, and Inshallah KP. So forget about Afghans in there, because they are in their own territory.
Not to forget, Peshawar, Baluchistan and Quetta are Afghanistan. You guys didn't even exist when Afghanistan contracted this land to British-India, so who are you really sending, and where? To prove this, simply look at the People, Pashtuns in this case. This tells you who owns that land. Main reason why Pakistan doesn't want stabilized Afghanistan.
Or these thankless people to India. After all they are good buddies of India.
i have met so many afghans outside Pakistan, they would tell u that they lived greater part of their lives in Pakistan, have got Pakistani passport, got education from Pakistan, but still they will hate Pakistan, really un-thankful people.
Wow. We provide them with income and stability and still they hate us?
To liberals: Don't give me tosh that we messed with their country that's why they are here. They started it with their king in 1950s and 1960s sending in proxies to NWFP to annex it to Afghanistan. Their plan just backfired.
And still these Afghans will always hate Pakistan.