Taking flight: Afghan refugees rush back to evade detention

Crackdown against foreigners following APS attack triggers mass exodus.

PESHAWAR:

Shifts in internal and external policies after the 16/12 tragedy have led to an unprecedented spike in the repatriation of Afghan nationals from scattered areas of Pakistan.

“The crackdown against local and foreign suspects after December 16 is the main reason for this increase in the return of Afghan nationals,” a UNHCR official on duty at the Pak-Afghan border at Torkham told The Express Tribune on Friday.



According to official data made public a few days ago, only 1,983 individuals were found to be Afghan nationals amongst the 5,500 suspects apprehended by law enforcement and secret agencies from different areas of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa after the APS incident.

An official of Khyber Agency’s political administration based at the Torkham border said around 684 families comprising 4,137 individuals have returned voluntarily to Afghanistan from different parts of the country since the start of the current month.

Fearing arrest, Afghans residing in Peshawar said a miserable life in Afghanistan would be better for them than living behind bars in Pakistan.

“The number of Afghans who returned to Afghanistan in January is equal to the overall number of 2014,” said Tahir Afridi, a UNHCR official serving at Torkham. He explained that around 3,357 Afghan families comprising 20,423 individuals had returned to Afghanistan via Torkham during January 2015. In comparison, only 3,938 families comprising 23,043 individuals went back to their native country last year.

According to the official data, unregistered or Afghan citizens without proper documents validating their stay in the country are not the only ones going back. Even those with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards are returning to their motherland. According to the Pakistan and UNHCR agreement, the people in possession of PoR have the right to live in the country till the end of the ongoing year.

However, data showed that in the month of January alone, around 509 registered families comprising 2,042 registered individuals had returned to Afghanistan via Torkham, whereas 645 registered families comprising 3,219 individuals returned in the entire year of 2014.

UNHCR officials explained that Afghans leaving for the motherland were coming from all parts of Pakistan, mostly from Punjab, Azad Kashmir and Hazara Division.

In a bid to facilitate Afghan nationals returning voluntarily, the UNHCR has established a registration centre on GT Road in Chamkani.

Upon their arrival to the UNHCR established station, Afghan nationals are provided transport and a repatriation package including cash as well as different edible and inedible items.

A number of students studying at different seminaries in Swabi are among those who have left in the aftermath of 16/12. Teachers and seminary administrators have ensured authorities they will cooperate with them for the establishment of peace in the region.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 7^th, 2015.