The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said that nearly 300 Afghan migrants returned to the country yesterday (Tuesday, April 16) from Pakistan.
Abdul Mutalib Haqqani, a spokesman for the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, told TOLOnews that discussions with Pakistani officials about creating a systematic approach for the repatriation of Afghan migrants are ongoing.
Haqqani said: “We have asked Pakistan’s government that if Afghans are to be expelled, it should be based on a joint mechanism and understanding, and a procedure should be developed by both countries in this regard.”
Additionally, it is expected that in the second round of expulsions of migrants from Pakistan, holders of the ACC card or Afghan citizenship card will also be expelled.
Abdul Jabbar Takhari, the consul of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi, Pakistan, said: “Our request from the government of Pakistan is that Afghans who have documentation should be treated well, and they should be allowed to live in Pakistan.”
According to Pakistani media outlets, about 800,000 migrants are expected to return in this round.
A number of newly returned migrants have criticized Islamabad’s decision, saying that Pakistani police are expelling migrants without regard for international law.
“They were very oppressive, and eventually, we were forced to return to the country,” said Sakhi Jan, an expelled migrant from Pakistan.
The Express Tribune of Pakistan quoted a spokesperson for that country’s Interior Ministry, stating that in this round, nearly one million Afghan migrants who also hold the ACC card or Afghan citizenship card will be expelled.
On the first day of the second phase of deporting Afghan migrants from Pakistan, more than 50 individuals were forcibly expelled from the country.
The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation continues to assure full attention to the challenges faced by the returned migrants.
Ali Reza Karimi, an expert in the field of migration, said: ‘We urge the Islamic Emirate to urgently engage with high-ranking officials of the United Nations in Pakistan, as well as the NGOs and offices responsible for migrants there, to have meetings that could convince the Pakistani authorities that deporting them to Afghanistan could be a major mistake.’
However, some Afghan migrants residing in Pakistan find Islamabad’s policies towards migrants to be spiteful.
They are calling for Islamabad to reconsider their deportation.
Akhtar Mohammad, an Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “They told undocumented migrants to leave. We were deported in a very harsh manner.”
Mohammad Younus Qarizada, another Afghan migrant in Pakistan, said: “Our other request from the United Nations is to arrange a program with the Pakistani government to ensure that those under the UN protection are not harassed, mistreated, or deported by the Pakistani government and police.”
According to information from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation, currently, three and a half million Afghan migrants are living in Pakistan.
Meanwhile, in the first phase of deporting Afghan migrants from Pakistan, nearly six hundred thousand Afghan migrants were forcibly expelled from the country.—Tolonews
