Farewell: Afghan seminary students in Swabi sent back

The presence of Afghan refugees has become a major challenge for the provincial govt.

SWABI:

Hundreds of Afghan students at various religious institutes and seminaries in Swabi, including Darul Quran Panjpir, were sent back to their native country on Wednesday.

Chief administrator of Darul Quran Panjpir, Maulana Muhammad Tayyeb Tahiri, confirmed a large number of Afghan students who were obtaining religious education at various seminaries across the district had been sent back.

In his farewell address to the students, he said the decision to repatriate them was taken in light of the directives issued by Mardan DIG Muhammad Saeed Khan and Swabi DPO Sajjad Khan.

Tahiri vowed all religious institutes and seminaries have decided to cooperate with the government as they see it as their responsibility to help tackle the security situation. He maintained the students were being sent back to Afghanistan willingly.

Speaking on the occasion, the Afghan students who were being repatriated said they were happy to return home and would remain indebted for the education they have received in Pakistan for the rest of their lives.

The presence of Afghan refugees has become a major challenge for the provincial government after the federal government decided to extend the stay of registered refugees in the country till December 2015.

Earlier, on December 19, the provincial government had decided to expel Afghan refugees from the province after a month, following an intelligence report that revealed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan’s deadly assault on Army Public School (APS) in Peshawar was coordinated by terrorists in Afghanistan.

Three days prior to the announcement, a group of terrorists laid siege to the school for over seven hours and massacred nearly 150 people, including over 130 schoolchildren.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 8^th, 2015.