ISLAMABAD: Interior Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed has asserted that Pakistan has so far not granted the status of refugee to a single person from Afghanistan amid the evacuation of foreigners and Afghans following the Taliban takeover of Kabul.
“I can confirm that not one person has been granted refugee status till now. Pakistan has not taken one person as a ‘Muhajir’ till now,” the federal minister said while addressing a press conference in Islamabad on Monday.
Referring to Thursday’s suicide attack outside Kabul’s airport, he said, “We expected that a flood of refugees can come but it didn’t occur”. He clarified that people from Afghanistan arrive in Pakistan via the Chaman border on a daily basis and then go back to their country.
Rashid further said Pakistan was a ‘responsible country’ that would fulfil its duty of national security and its international expectations, adding that it had “made history” in facilitating the Afghan peace process.
Regarding any possible influx of people from Afghanistan, he said that Pakistan has made arrangements to accommodate 3,000 people in Islamabad only, adding that any person from any nationality will be granted a transit visa of 21 days.
Sheikh Rashid added that as of now, 1,627 people have entered Pakistan via the air route, while over 2,100 people arrived through the land route at Torkham. Calling Pakistan Amy as the “world’s greatest army”, he said they had fenced the border and were keeping a close watch over the movement of people.
In response to a question about Pakistanis repatriated from Afghanistan, he said, “All Pakistanis have been evacuated. Between 30 to 40 people do not want to come because they married over there, have families and children and said they are happy there.”
He explained that Pakistan was not bearing any expense for the evacuation process, with the organisations sponsoring the evacuees responsible for their costs, adding that airplanes parked at the country’s airports were also paying parking fees.
The minister also lashed out at India, saying that New Delhi can use militant groups to carry out subversive activities in Pakistan. “Islamabad hoped Afghanistan would not allow its territory to be used against Pakistan,” he added.
Rashid said Pakistan was the only country in the world that had sacrificed 80,000-plus lives to establish peace in Afghanistan and the region. He censured India, saying that the “country’s news channels are attempting to malign Pakistan through propaganda.”
During the press conference, the interior minister took shots at the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM), saying that the Opposition’s “timing and tuning” were both messed up.
“Opposition should prepare for the next elections,” he advised, adding that their narrative would not get acceptance among the masses. He said that the Opposition was not aware of Pakistani politics, adding that they were focused on petty issues while Pakistan’s politics was headed towards international matters.
