Avoiding arrest: Afghan students flee country in haste

PESHAWAR:

Fearing a crackdown, Afghan students studying in seminaries of Peshawar have started fleeing the country in haste.

“Police has asked us to submit a complete list of Afghan teachers and students in seminaries, thereby causing panic among these people,” the administrator of a seminary in Tehkal told The Express Tribune. “This is why at least a dozen Afghan students have left the seminary; some of them have even fled to Afghanistan.”

There was a time when 90% of our students were Afghans, but this is no longer the case, he said. “Today, a majority of our students are from Mohmand and Bajaur agencies.”

On the other hand, a police official claimed most of the students from Afghanistan are still enrolled in seminaries of the region, adding they are using the cover of Fata to conceal their identity.

“One can hardly tell whether a person is from Fata or Afghanistan as both regions have similar appearances and cultures,” the official said. “However, we have been asked to detect illegal refugees in these madrassahs and arrest them.”

A database of legal refugees who are bound to share their information at police stations is also being prepared, he added.

Published in The Express Tribune, February 10^th, 2015.