The Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation (MoRR) called on the UN High Commissioner for Refugees to address the problems of Afghan refugees abroad.
Talking to the gathering held to mark World Refugee Day, the acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation, Khalil Rahman Haqqani, expressed concerns over the mistreatment of Afghan refugees abroad.
“The rights of refugees, their problems must be raised to the whole world and to those who are responsible for them,” he said.
“To support them (refugees), there is a need for the support of the international community and other organizations,” said Arsalan Kharotai, deputy Minister of Refugees and Repatriation.
Speaking at the same gathering, the head of the UNHCR’s Afghanistan said that around 24 million Afghans are facing acute hunger.
According to him, more than 6 million Afghans are living outside Afghanistan.
The deputy spokesman for the Islamic Emirate, Bilal Karimi, said there are reports of Afghan refugees being mistreated in some countries.
“Unfortunately, we have heard some reports that our citizens are facing problems in some countries. We call on the officials of these countries to understand the situation of the Afghans based on their humanitarian and Islamic faith,” he said.
According to Karimi, around 3.5 million Afghans have been internally displaced since 2012.
Meanwhile, Afghan refugees held a demonstration in front of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad over delays in processing their immigration papers. They chanted “kill us,” and wore shirts with the same slogan.
They called on the UNHCR to expedite their registration, the distribution of immigration cards, and their admission to asylum-seeking countries.
“The Afghan protest with the slogan ‘kill us’ has reached the fifth day. On the third day, a number of UN representatives came and saw our problems up close,” said a protestor.
“We did not get what we wanted, we protested, we do not want anything anymore, our slogan is to kill us,” said the protesting asylum seeker.
The asylum seekers claim that they have repeatedly contacted the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Islamabad but have not received clear answers.
“They have been waiting for six to eight months with their families and children, with the current high price of living in Islamabad. It is very difficult to get a house,” said a protestor.
“For the past six months, we have been given a token, which is a piece of paper. it has no legal privileges and we have not received any human and humanitarian privileges,” the protesting asylum seeker said.
Afghan asylum seekers in Indonesia also protested against the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) for not handling their immigration cases.—Tolonews
