When the Durand fails to divide: Afghan nationals continue to pour in illegally
These numbers were gathered by the police at Torkham border for Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Around 14,274 Afghan nationals crossed into Pakistan via Torkham and the Khyber Pass, while around 16,683 went to Afghanistan. On Thursday alone, around 3,708 Afghan nationals entered Pakistan, of which 3,548 did so illegally. Only 160 of these thousands of Afghans were carrying their travel documents with them.
In comparison, only a handful of Pakistani nationals, around 30 to 40, go to Afghanistan via Torkham border every day. Moreover, all of them do so after acquiring visas from the Afghan embassy in Pakistan.
There are several entry and exit points along the ‘porous’ Pak-Afghan border that runs along hundreds of miles. It has been used for transportation for thousands of years, with no record of how many people use the route to enter Pakistan from the neighbouring country on any given day or month.
Torkham, unsurprisingly, is the most favoured route because of how easy it is to get a ride along this ancient course.
"We are not policymakers, we only implement [the policies] and these [Afghan nationals] have been going and coming to Pakistan since 1980 without inviting any attention,” an official of the political administration of Khyber Agency told The Express Tribune. “[The] government’s policy about them is to allow free movement."
However, a police official added that on one hand, they launch frequent crackdowns on refugees living in the country without registration, but on the other hand the federal government is following a policy of free movement. "We talk of closing down all 45 refugee camps in the province as they are considered breeding grounds for criminals and often discuss sending them back by force, but at the same time, we do not really care about how many of them are still entering Pakistan illegally each day.”
The police official said some Afghan refugees have been found to be involved in the recent extortion cases and they were caught using Afghan SIMs too. "They commit crimes like carjacking, murder, robberies, terrorism, kidnapping for ransom and extortion and then go back to their homeland to avoid arrest or detection."
He added that there should be proper documentation for them and their activities should be monitored at all times. "Once they enter Pakistan illegally, they are free to go as far as Karachi. There is no check on their activities."
Published in The Express Tribune, July 12th, 2014.
COMMENTS (12)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@King: I am a Pakistani of Pashtun ancestry, and I want all people who enter Pakistan illegally deported. Regardless of their ethnicity or otherwise.
@King:
East and West Punjabis no longer hate each other. The hatred died with the generation that suffered partition. Pakistani Pakhtuns of course have bonds with Afghan Pakhtuns but I have never met one that loved them. In my experience, Pakistani Pakhtuns tend to look down on Wasirstanis and Afghan Pakhtuns.
@Avtar:
The traditional landed gentry of West Punjab was almost entirely Muslim with some Sikhs and no Hindus.
@King As a Canadian and an ex-Indian Punjabi, there is not really that much hatred between the East and West Punjabis. The main hatred was generated by the politicians on the decision of partition. People lost family members,livelihood and property and were forced to go through the process. The Hindus and Sikhs used to control 40% of the wealth of West Pakistan. The Pushtuns were never partitioned and did not suffer the scars of partition, and because of the porous border Pak and Afghan govts. haven't been able to enforce and monitor cross-border movement of people.
@Moiz Omar: what if Afghanistan refused to take them? What about pakistani in bangladesh? and those indian muslims want to migrate to pakistan.
We need better border security and deport those who enter Pakistan illegally. If they do it again give them long prison sentences.
At last some has come up with reliable figures on a menace of disastrous consequences to Pakistan. Mr. Riaz Ahmad has reported the route cause of Afghanistan related issue of Pakistan's foreign policy. Anybody crossing Torkham border is witness to un-interrupted illegal human flow across the border. It is a fact that more than 95% of the people crossing the borders are Afghan. The Afghan mostly come to Pakistan through this border to get cheap Heath, education and livelihood facilities and repay by exporting terrorism, extortion, hereon and above all hatred towards Pakistan.
There are more than ten check posts between Torkham and Jalalabad (the nearest town on Afghanistan side) policed by Afghan order police, Intelligence agencies, army and regular police. They conduct humiliating body searches, disrespect and empty the pocket of any Pakistani found without any travel document. The disrespectful and inhumane attitude of each of the Afghan officials on duty is in intolerable and shame to watch. By the way the forces on Pakistan side are worst than Afghans in this regards, particularly Frontier Constabulary personnel are shame for the nation as a part of Pakistan armed forces.
A Peshwary
Strange Pakistan was created for Indian Muslims but looks like except those every other Muslims are allowed.
Looks like Afghanistan is creating Strategic Depth inside Pakistan.
The Durand Line is not like the border between two two Punjabs that can be sealed. While Indian and Pakistani Punjabis have a visceral hatred for each other, Sunni Muslim Deobandi Pashtuns (who share a common history, blood, identity, language and culture) on both sides of the Durand love and respect each other.
If the Punjab-based establishment tries to seal the Durand Line, Pashtuns on both sides will agitate and unite.
In a way Afghan free movement policy has turned Karachi into a den of all sorts of crimes.
Shame on successive Governments of Pakistan for failing to establish control & let the enemies of Pakistan move freely across Pakistan Border. Some day a Pakistani should try to cross this border and they would come to know how they are treated on other side of the border.