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The US media outlet, Associated Press (AP) has reported on Saturday October 7, 2023 that the UN has warned Pakistan of “forcibly deporting Afghans from Pakistan could lead to severe human rights violations including the separation of families and deportation of minors.”
This statement comes in reaction to what the Pakistan government recently announced, a crackdown on the illegal migrants living in the country for decades. Most of them are Afghans who are reportedly engaged in different illegal actions including terrorism.
The Caretaker Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti in a media briefing last week said the illegal migrants include 1.7 million Afghans. They never registered themselves with the UN nor the country’s authorities. He asked them and all others to return back to their home countries by October 31 to avoid mass arrest and expulsion.
Pakistan has repeatedly reported to the UN and other concerned quarters the undue engagement of the illegal Afghan migrants, and the economic burden of the registered Afghan refugees living in Pakistan since early 1980s. But, UNHCR (United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees) has completely failed to settle down the case of refugees in decades citing one lame excuse or the other. Now, the strange statement seems unjustified. The UN institutions cannot blame Pakistan for what they have miserably failed to do despite repeated requests from Pakistan governments.
In fact, Pakistan has been exhausted bearing the brunt of the economic burden as well as kidnapping for ransom, smuggling of drugs and Afghan transit trade goods, and human trafficking. Now the increasing street crimes, beggar-mafia and terrorism. In most of the cases, Afghan culprits were found responsible for the incidents. The recent intelligence reports as the federal minister Bugti mentioned, the Afghan nationals were found guilty of 14 terrorist attacks out of 24. Alarming report.
The UN agencies shall keep in mind that Pakistan cannot afford the bill of their salaries for the work they could not do in decades. Secondly, Pakistan’s fast shrinking and sinking economy cannot afford even the economic burden of the registered Afghan migrants. The presence of illegal migrants whoever they are shall be deported as the deadline set by the Pakistan government. The state institutions shall not compromise on what the illegal migrants are engaged in. Pakistan’s security is much more imperative than the UN lame alerts and unjustified warnings that are meant to protect the culprits engaged in the illegal incidents in Pakistan.
The Pakistan government has already denied targeting Afghans, saying “the focus is on people who are in the country illegally, regardless of their nationality. A hotline is being set up to report illegal migrants, and the Pakistan government offers rewards to people who tip off authorities about such migrants.”
The AP has reported that “Landlords and real estate owners in the Pakistani capital, Islamabad, have received notices telling them to evict “illegal Afghans” and their families by the end of the month or face action. Police have asked clerics in some of the city’s mosques to tell worshippers of their duty to inform Afghans in their neighborhoods. Over 2,000 people have been arrested across the country since the crackdown began earlier this week.”
On the other hand, the UN agencies seem more concerned about the “humanitarian crisis” in Afghanistan, particularly an environment for women and girls, who are banned by the Taliban from education beyond sixth grade, most public spaces and many jobs. While the Taliban’s government in Afghanistan has denied such “allegations”. However, the UN agencies shall look for a permanent solution for the registered Afghan refugees as early as possible because the Pakistan government is not deporting them but the illegal ones who are engaged in the illegal activities.
The list is quite long. The UN agencies shall help Pakistan in arresting and deporting the illegal migrants wherever they are from, and involved in terrorism, smuggling, drugs etc. They shall acknowledge Pakistan’s “sovereign prerogative” over domestic policies.
The UNHCR and IOM statements calling on the countries to “suspend forcible returns of Afghan nationals” seems aggravating the situation unnecessarily. I must say they have misunderstood the Pakistan government’s statements. They are irrationally propagating the wrong perception or intentionally promoting the illegal stay of the illegal migrants whereas 100s of families have started returning to their homeland.
End of the day, the UN agencies will not take any responsibility for any terrorism, smuggling, human trafficking, drugs trade, kidnapping for ransom and beggars’ mafias operating in Pakistan by the illegal migrants. This is hardly understandable that the UN agencies are trying to protect the illegal migrants?Dutch bowlers, Aryan Dutt, Paul van Meekeren, and Roelof van der Merwe picked up six wickets between them.
