Afghans living in Pakistan face a backlash and are reporting incidents of harassment, according to the IOM. PHOTO: AFP
More than 22,000 undocumented Afghans flocked across the border at Torkham in January, more than twice the figure for the whole of 2014, said Richard Danzinger, the IOM's mission chief in Afghanistan. Almost 1,500 others were deported in the same month, double the number of deportees in December.
"It all started with the attack on the school in Peshawar," Danzinger told Reuters. "When something horrible happens, people start taking it out on foreigners."
Taliban militants attacked Army Public School in Peshawar in December, killing more than 130 children and prompting Pakistan to step up operations against insurgent hideouts along the border with Afghanistan. Cooperation between Afghan and Pakistani security forces has also improved since the attack and led to the arrest of suspects in Afghanistan, where officials believe it was planned by the Pakistani Taliban.
Afghans living in Pakistan, however, face a backlash and are reporting incidents of harassment, such as raids on their homes and police coercion, according to the IOM and other officials. Most of the Afghan families had settled in Pakistan decades earlier, Danzinger said, and had nowhere to go once they returned.
"Their lives are in Pakistan," he said, adding it was unclear how long they would remain in Afghanistan. The flow of undocumented returnees has increased steadily in January, rising from around 350 in the first week to around 1,400 in the final week of the month.
"It is very difficult to predict at the moment," Danzinger said of the upward trend. "We've not seen it slow down, let's put it that way." The unexpected arrival of thousands has put pressure on Afghanistan's limited resources and only the most vulnerable are being given assistance.
About 10 per cent of those arriving so far have access to assistance and the IOM had been forced to pull some of its resources away from the western border with Iran to cope, Danzinger said. The IOM says it needs another $1.6 million in funds for 2015 to cope.
COMMENTS (5)
Comments are moderated and generally will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive.
For more information, please see our Comments FAQ
@Fayez: Do you really think Afghans will desire to go back to Afghanistan? Do you really think they will go back in an honorable manner? Do you think they pay taxes in Pakistan that we can afford their living on our scarce resources? Afghans have crippled their generations in last five decades war. Now, they are all out to cripple our generations. It is high time they return before we loose more of our kids and we have a limping future generation. The Afghans who left Afghanistan were never sincere with Afghanistan, they would never be with Pakistan.
I am surprised that Danzinger is concerned about scarce resources of Afghanistan but he does not care how much our resources were taxed since late 80s.
Curse on nationality: In this so-called civilised world, humanity is conditional with nationality. This is what the Democracy gave us and divide the Muslims ... what a Shame
May Allah unite the Muslims ...
As a Pakistani, I will demand a respectable relocation of afghan refugees to their country. I won't like it if they are fleeing out of fear. Everyone deserves respect, they left their land because of War. now the situation is better, KPK govt must relocate them rather than them fleeing.
No Afghan has been reportedly hurt by any vigilante group so far. Not a single documented backlash. If an illegal refugee is leaving because the police is refusing their bribes due to army pressure, I am happy. Now as to what will they do in Afghanistan to survive, well, that is an Afghan matter.