Disinformation about Afghan Refugees in Pakistan

By Sajjad Shaukat

As part of disinformation about Afghan refugees in Pakistan, Indian and likeminded Afghan media are misreporting that Afghan refugees face numerous challenges and hardships.

In this regard, a report of the Indian-based news agency ANI was published on the websites of Lokmat Times. Com on June 25, 2023 and Khaaam. Com on June 24, 2023.

The fabricated report of the ANI wrote: “Following the return of the Taliban to power in August 2021, new waves of Afghan refugees moved to Iran and Pakistan due to several reasons including fearing death, threats and persecution by Afghanistan’s de facto regime. Pakistan, the southern neighbor of Afghanistan is one of the primary destinations Afghan refugees, aimed at migrating to countries that accept migrants.”

ANI allegedly said: “While in Pakistan, these migrants are faced with numerous challenges including arbitrary detentions, harassment, and imprisonment by Pakistani police due to failing to provide valid residential permits and visas. Despite having the United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) certificate, Pakistani police and other relevant agencies continue detaining and incarcerating Afghan refugees in different parts of the country, including the capital city of Islamabad. Maniza Kakar, an attorney of Afghan prisoners in Karachi earlier claimed that Pakistani police tore the residential documents of some Afghan nationals while they were arrested. On certain occasions, the mistreatment of Afghan refugees by the Pakistani government has been described as “inhuman and hateful”, prompting widespread criticism in Pakistan, Afghanistan and beyond.”

The fictitious report further wrote: “Another Afghan refugee who has freshly moved to France indicated that Pakistan does not offer you anything other than countless sufferings. He asked other immigrants to follow up on their immigration cases; otherwise, they will continuously face mistreatment, harassment and humiliation. Most of Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan has a migration case to one of the countries, the process time of which has become extremely lengthy at the moment, causing ambiguity and hopelessness for refugees.”

In fact, since 1979, Pakistan is hosting millions of Afghan refugees despite the fact that the country is neither a signatory to the UN Convention relating to the Status of Refugees (the Geneva Convention) nor to the protocol relating to the Status of Refugees of 31 January 1967.

Islamabad for more than 40 years hosted about 4 million Afghan refugees (after Soviet Union’s invasion, 6 million Afghans fled Afghanistan) including 1.4 million unregistered and 0.8 million with Afghan citizen cards, the largest in the world.

Additionally, Pakistan welcomed 0.15 million Afghan asylum seekers after US withdrawal, while 50,000 (mostly Hazaras) entered illegally. Out of these, approximately 55,000 are still present in Pakistan.

There are about 54 Afghan refugee camps operational in Pakistan. Out of which, 43 camps are in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa [KP] province, and almost 68% of Afghan refugees live in urban areas, while only 32% live in the camps relying on national public services.

Pakistan’s hospitality has been unparalleled in hosting Afghan refugees, while adhering to the highest standards of protection. Despite Islamabad’s several socio-economic and security challenges, these refugees enjoy rights to health, education, business, trade etc. unlike other countries.

Islamabad has upheld its international protection obligations and pursued non-discriminatory policies towards Afghan refugees, notably in areas of education, health care and human capital development. In this respect, refugees have free enrollment in government and primary schools—access to higher education with generous scholarships, free treatment in government hospitals along with numerous livelihood opportunities.

Pakistan’s progressive approach is further evident in the inclusion of Afghan refugees in the government’s national response plans to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Besides, many of these refugees run small businesses or do jobs and send remittances to their family members across the border.

It is a goodwill gesture from Islamabad that on the request of the Afghan Embassy, Pakistan has so far released 2350 Afghan citizens out of nearly 2600 in jail, who had been detained for various charges. 

However, for the ease of Afghans plying between Pakistan and Afghanistan for medical, business, tourism etc., Afghan refugees visiting their relatives in Afghanistan, Pakistan have made considerable efforts in improving the mechanism at various border crossing points which are aimed at Introduction of online visa regime for Afghans, Managing high volume of border crossings, Organizing 5 crossing points–recently one more added at Chaman—passengers’ to and fro movement at crossing points is approximately 15,000/Day and 4,00,000/Month—Setting up of a joint committee for cross-border movement of nationals between both the countries.

Notably, Peshawar High Court has recently made a decision ordering issuance of Pakistan Origin Cards to Afghan husbands married to Pakistani women.

On the contrary, out of 21000 Afghans living in India, nearly 11000 are registered as asylum-seekers, but not officially recognized as refugees. Yet India claims to be an ally and friend of Afghanistan.

Unlike Pakistan, most of the Western countries as well as neighbouring states like Iran and Turkiye also have strict policy regarding Afghan asylum seekers which contains area restrictions and forced repatriation.

While, UN High Commissioner for Refugees, Filipo Grandi remarked: “Hosting refugees is a responsibility that has not been equitably shared. We pay tribute to the generosity of Pakistan for hosting millions of refugees for 40 years”.

And in the recent past, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres while addressing the International Conference in Islamabad urged the world to show similar leadership which Pakistan has shown in standing with refugees. He pointed out: “Pakistan today is the world’s second largest refugee hosting country, Pakistan has provided the world with a global public good supporting Afghan refugees and it is time for the international community to assume its responsibilities and to support Pakistan very meaningfully”.

It is mentionable that many Afghan refugees who studied in Pakistan have become successful academician, sportsmen, businessmen and in host of other fields many Afghan girls and women living in Pakistan as a refugee have become success stories. For instance, Dr. Silsila Sherzad is a 30-year-old consultant psychiatrist and trauma therapist in Quetta. Najiba Faiz from Kunduz province of Afghanistan is a well-known television channel host and actor.

Moreover, through Refugee Affected and Hosting Areas Program (RAHA), special programs are run to enhance skills of the refugees in various trades in order to enable them earn better livelihoods for themselves and their families.

It is noteworthy that they are largely vulnerable Afghans looking to move to the USA and other Western countries under refugee resettlement programmes. Most of them have been living in hotels, guesthouses and apartment buildings in Islamabad. They claim deliberate delays in processing of their resettlement applications by the US and other related Western embassies.

There are numerous unjustified conditions to apply for an immigrant visa; a foreign citizen seeking to immigrate generally must be sponsored by a US citizen or lawful permanent resident, immediate relative or prospective US employer, and have an approved petition before applying for an immigrant visa. The sponsor begins the process by filing a petition on the foreign citizen’s behalf with US Citizenship and Immigration Services.

Similarly, the UK has also broken its promise to resettle refugees from Afghanistan. Britain was sending old Afghan asylum seekers and refugees to Rwanda. A British entity admitted by saying: “Almost a year later after the withdrawal of NATO from Afghanistan, our resettlement and relocation schemes are still abysmal—and Afghans, without safe passage to the UK, now constitute one quarter of those crossing the English Channel.”

Nevertheless, other than a few exceptions, there are many settled Afghan refugees who acknowledge that Pakistan is their “first home” and local people ‘friendly’.

Sajjad Shaukat writes on international affairs and is author of the book: US vs Islamic Militants, Invisible Balance of Power: Dangerous Shift in International Relations

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