THE Afghan refugee community has lived in the Islamic Republic of Pakistan for over four decades with many calling the latter, their home. However, as of last week i.e. October 31st, the date that marked the deadline for all illegal foreigners to leave the country voluntarily, the crackdown on what the state is calling illegal aliens is in full swing.
While there has been clarification after clarification put out stating that the campaign is not targeting a particular nationality, the policy does, by and large impact Afghan nationals the most. UN figures suggest that Pakistan hosts about 1.3 million Afghan refugees with Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, and another 880,000 have the legal right to remain in the country, while over 1.73m are unregistered and thereby illegally residing in Pakistan. It is these 1.73 million people who have been asked to leave the Islamic Republic and return to a country that they fled from with hopes and dreams of starting afresh.
Ever since the notification, over 200,000 Afghans have been reported to have left the country. When the clocks struck 12 on the 1st of November, just a few days ago, authorities in Pakistan launched a formal crackdown, rounding hundreds in different parts of the country. For the time being these alien men, women, children, and the elderly are being stored in holding centres before they are ultimately sent off in containers to a country that is broken and unwelcoming.
While it remains true that Pakistan hosted these neighbours for many years with not much support and barely enough means to sustain its own, it does not mean that all were welcome and treated fairly. For over forty years the Afghan community in Pakistan has experienced xenophobia, marginalization of all sorts, and been subjects of discrimination. However, it is equally true that even with limited rights, the Afghans in Pakistan have built communities, friendships, and businesses and to just ship them away in containers on trucks like they are livestock is a bit unfair.
While all of the above paints the Pakistani state and its abrupt notification in a negative light, it is important to understand the rationale behind the effective immediate deportation policy put in place by the interim setup. At the heart of this abrupt behaviour is the banned Tehrek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP). Ever since the fall of Kabul in 2021, the Taliban have returned to power in the Islamic Emirate (Afghanistan). This return has, through backdoor channels emboldened their counterparts in Pakistan, the TTP.
The country has experienced many terrorist attacks over the last two years with links to the regime in Afghanistan. Despite repeated demands, the Afghan Taliban have been apprehensive to act against TTP. As a result, the Pakistani state has reached a tipping point… a point where it makes it clear to those in Kabul to not expect any favours. A point where once again innocent civilians are paying the price for decisions made in Islamabad and Kabul.
—The writer is Assistant Editor, daily Pakistan Observer, Islamabad.
Email: [email protected]
views expressed are writer’s own.
