The Pakistani government is callously using Afghan refugees as pawns in its ongoing political dispute with Afghanistan. Pakistani politicians often scapegoat the refugees as “terrorists” and charge them with being a burden on the state. There are currently 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees in Pakistan, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented refugees also living in the country. The first wave of refugees began came over from Afghanistan during the Soviet-Afghan War, with many more arriving during the bloody civil war of the 1990s. In 2001, the US invaded Afghanistan, beginning the longest war in American history. The 16-year neo-colonial occupation has devastated the lives of the Afghan people and created a new generation of refugees.
On December 31, the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards of 1.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan expired after the federal government refused to provide an extension on time. The PoR cards allow the refugees to live in Pakistan “legally” and avoid harassment by the state. On January 3, the long-suffering refugees learned they would only be given a 30-day extension, rather than the 1-year extension the government had been considering under a trilateral agreement with Afghanistan and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Many of the refugees have lived in Pakistan for decades and have had children in the country. There are indeed children among the 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees. A large number of refugees have established firm roots in the country and have lost all ties to Afghanistan. Afghanistan does not have the resources to deal with massive numbers of returnees from across the border. Many refugees are also terrified at the prospect of returning to war-torn Afghanistan. Civilian casualties due to the war reached a 16-year high during the first six months of 2017, according to the UN.
Pakistan has resorted to a policy of intimidation and harassment of the refugees, so as to bring about their “voluntary” repatriation to the country. In mid-2016, it launched what Gerry Simpson, a refugee expert at Human Rights Watch, described at the time as the “world’s largest recent anti-refugee crackdown.” Afghan refugees have told human rights organizations about the cruel methods used by Pakistani authorities to coerce them into leaving for Afghanistan, including deportation during the winter and police abuses like arbitrary detention, extortion, and nocturnal police raids. Pakistani officials have described the refugee camps where the Afghans live as “safe havens” for terrorists.
There is no doubt, however, that Pakistan hopes to use the refugee crisis to punish Afghanistan for shifting ever closer towards it arch-rival, India. The deepening alliance between Afghanistan and India is viewed by Pakistan’s ruling elites as a vital security threat due to their fear of “strategic encirclement” by India.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/09/afghan-refugees-feeling-the-heat-as-geopolitical-tensions-rise/
On December 31, the Proof of Registration (PoR) cards of 1.4 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan expired after the federal government refused to provide an extension on time. The PoR cards allow the refugees to live in Pakistan “legally” and avoid harassment by the state. On January 3, the long-suffering refugees learned they would only be given a 30-day extension, rather than the 1-year extension the government had been considering under a trilateral agreement with Afghanistan and the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Many of the refugees have lived in Pakistan for decades and have had children in the country. There are indeed children among the 1.4 million registered Afghan refugees. A large number of refugees have established firm roots in the country and have lost all ties to Afghanistan. Afghanistan does not have the resources to deal with massive numbers of returnees from across the border. Many refugees are also terrified at the prospect of returning to war-torn Afghanistan. Civilian casualties due to the war reached a 16-year high during the first six months of 2017, according to the UN.
Pakistan has resorted to a policy of intimidation and harassment of the refugees, so as to bring about their “voluntary” repatriation to the country. In mid-2016, it launched what Gerry Simpson, a refugee expert at Human Rights Watch, described at the time as the “world’s largest recent anti-refugee crackdown.” Afghan refugees have told human rights organizations about the cruel methods used by Pakistani authorities to coerce them into leaving for Afghanistan, including deportation during the winter and police abuses like arbitrary detention, extortion, and nocturnal police raids. Pakistani officials have described the refugee camps where the Afghans live as “safe havens” for terrorists.
There is no doubt, however, that Pakistan hopes to use the refugee crisis to punish Afghanistan for shifting ever closer towards it arch-rival, India. The deepening alliance between Afghanistan and India is viewed by Pakistan’s ruling elites as a vital security threat due to their fear of “strategic encirclement” by India.
https://www.counterpunch.org/2018/01/09/afghan-refugees-feeling-the-heat-as-geopolitical-tensions-rise/
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