Pakistan pursuing policy of returning Afghan refugees with dignity: FM

ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Monday said Pakistan is pursuing a policy of return of Afghan refugees with dignity, safety and honour.

Addressing two-day Refugee Summit Islamabad on 40 years of hosting Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the minister said peace and stability are indispensable and Pakistan would continue supporting the Afghan peace process.

Qureshi said every refugee is hoping that peace will restore leading to repatriation. He said Pakistan hosted five million Afghan refugees and today three million registered and unregistered Afghan refugees still residing in Pakistan. He said Pak-Afghan relations have provided an impetus to host millions of Afghan refugees.

The Foreign Minister urged the world to join hands with Pakistan to provide basic needs to Afghan refugees and enable them to live a dignified life. He said international cooperation is required more than ever before. Qureshi said caring should be a shared responsibility. He said Afghan refugees are expecting the world to rebuild their country after the restoration of peace there.

Speaking on the occasion, Afghan Second Vice President Danish Sarwar said they are thankful to Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees for forty years. He said Pakistan played the role of a brotherly country by hosting millions of Afghan refugees. He said they cannot forget as to how Pakistan and Iran opened their doors for Afghan refugees, and said his government wants repatriation of Afghan refugees but the end of the war is imperative.

Addressing the conference UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi said for the last 40 years, the people of Pakistan have stood with Afghan neighbours. He said Pakistan’s solidarity to hosting refugees is admirable. However, he said, generosity does not come without cost, but it has an impact on the local economy, infrastructure, and security.

The High Commissioner said international support to the Afghan refugees remained insufficient. He appealed to donors to lend support for development in Afghanistan.