Mistreatment of Afghan refugees

Police authorities in K-P are accused of raiding houses, hotels and businesses of refugees

Moments of crisis are a time to judge a nation’s character. With respect to the treatment of Afghan refugees, the country, particularly authorities in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P), have exhibited that in their moment of crisis, they will pick on the weakest and most vulnerable in society. Allegations of mistreatment and abuse of refugees at the hands of the police continue to emerge ever since the attack on the Army Public School in Peshawar on December 16. Emotions are understandably high after the school massacre, but they are being channelled in ways that are geared towards temporary, ill-thought solutions, which involve picking on easy targets, such as economically poor refugees who may have little or no means of protection.

Harassment of refugees has been a problem in the past as well, but it has taken a turn for the worse in recent weeks. Police authorities in K-P are accused of raiding houses, hotels and businesses, and harassing even those who are properly registered as refugees and have proof of registration cards. Furthermore, arbitrary raids and deportations by the K-P government have started although the date for repatriation of all refugees was extended to December 2015 in a joint decision of the UNHCR and the federal government. What is most disturbing, however, are allegations of mistreatment of Afghan minors by the police, specifically of seminary students. Picking up underage students and subjecting them to abuse will not result in any solutions. This is akin to merely exploiting a power relationship. Pakistan hosts the largest refugee population in the world — nearly 1.6 million registered refugees and nearly half a million unregistered ones — but while the generosity shown so far is to be appreciated, it cannot in any way allow for abuse or give any authority the right to snatch away human dignity of some of the weakest members of society. It is time our society showed some character and demanded that our moment of crisis does not pave the way for more acceptability of abuse. Denying justice to refugees will not guarantee justice elsewhere or avenge the deaths of those who were lost in a decade-long conflict.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 26^th,  2015.

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