Afghan Refugees’ Crisis

Hosting millions of refugees for over four decades is regarded as a mark of close affinity between two countries

In recent weeks and months, some incidents relating to the alleged mistreatment of Afghans, living illegally or undocumented in various parts of Pakistan, have sparked negative reactions in Afghanistan. In this context, an uproar by the human rights groups over disturbing photographs in the media about the inhumane treatment of the arrested Afghans by the Sindh Police compelled Afghanistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs to issue a statement condemning such treatment. The statement called upon Pakistan for the better treatment of Afghans in Pakistan. While so far these are isolated incidents and not part of any organised campaign, yet they reflect growing gaps between the two countries regarding the ways to address key issues of mutual interest and concern.

It is important to highlight that hosting millions of Afghan refugees by Pakistan for more than four decades is regarded by the two countries as a mark of close affinity between them.

Following the Soviet military intervention in Afghanistan in the late 1970s, the Afghan refugees started pouring into Pakistan in big numbers. During the 1980s as Afghans were engaged in ‘Jehad’ to liberate their country from foreign occupation, Pakistan was hosting as many as around five million Afghan refugees.

The hospitality provided by Pakistan to Afghans during the past four decades has been exemplary. The Afghans who lived and grew in Pakistan were not confined to refugee camps, but they lived in Pakistani towns and villages. More importantly, these Afghan refugees received education in Pakistani institutions, got medical treatment in Pakistani hospitals and enjoyed business and employment opportunities just like the sons and daughters of the soil.  The international community recognised Pakistan’s generous hospitality. The Afghan people and all the Afghan governments and political leaders have continued to express gratitude to Pakistan in official meetings as well as public spheres for the dignified treatment of refugees. Because of these factors, Afghans most preferred destination outside Afghanistan has been Pakistan for more than four decades now.

Pakistan hosted millions of Afghans as refugees for decades despite the fact that it is not a party to the International Refugees Convention of 1951. In comparison, many countries, which have been parties to the Refugees Convention, have been reluctant to take the Afghan refugees on their soil. It is also pertinent to highlight here that while the UNHCR and the international donor community provided some financial assistance to Pakistan, the bulk of the cost of the Afghans refugees has been borne by the state as well as people of Pakistan.

But as the Afghan conflict dragged on, its complexities and implications also intensified not only for the Afghans but also its immediate neighbours, particularly Pakistan. The refugee crisis is a part of that package. The expectation that Afghans living in other parts of the world since the Soviet occupation, would repatriate to their homeland after the US and NATO intervention in Afghanistan in 2001, proved short-lived. A part of refugees, who went back to Afghanistan also continued back and forth movement to Pakistan due to lingering instability in their country. This caused increasing security and demographic pressures on Pakistan, which was facing severe economic challenges of its own.

The Taliban’s 15th August takeover of Afghanistan led to massive evacuation and exodus from the war-torn country. This was initially caused by uncertainty of the situation. However, the trend was perpetrated by the United States and its allies through blanket restrictions on the Afghan economy and banking sector, linking these with political demands, which has only served to aggravate suffering of common Afghans. In terms of accommodating the new wave of Afghan migrants, the US and Western countries adopted a pick and choose approach mainly targeting those Afghans who had been working with them in the past two decades. Even these people have been subjected to lengthy and cumbersome immigration processes also involving difficult transits through third countries.

In this situation too, Pakistan and Iran received the largest number of Afghan migrants. Pakistan instituted a liberal visa policy for Afghans in recent years. According to a rough, but quite realistic estimate, around or more than a million more Afghans have come to Pakistan in the last couple of years either through visa regime or illegal cross-border movements. These Afghans, many undocumented, are scattered all over Pakistan and the actions of Sindh Police are a testimony of their increasing number.

In view of the history of the people-to-people relations between the two countries and the significant contribution of Pakistan in hosting millions of Afghans for decades, it is important that the issues relating to the stay of these refugees due to humanitarian and human rights conditions are dealt with in a more conciliatory manner. The repatriation of the Afghan refugees to Afghanistan will practically take place when durable peace and stability is achieved there. In the meantime, the government should evolve a comprehensive and long-term approach to deal with this matter keeping in view related sensitivities. Following paragraphs contain some broad suggestions for consideration of our relevant institutions:

1) Addressing the issues relating to the Afghan refugees and other Afghans living in Pakistan requires bilateral state-to-state interaction. Bilateral dialogue on the Afghan refugees should be held on priority basis preferably at the Ministerial level with the support of the Chief Commissionerate of Afghan Refugees and other relevant institutions. If it is difficult to invite the Afghan Minister due to international restrictions, there should be no harm in Pakistan’s relevant Minister traveling to Kabul and discussing the refugees’ issues in a threadbare manner.

2) While the registered refugees have ‘Proof or Residence’ (PoR) cards issued in collaboration with the UNHCR, it is important to prepare a database of unregistered Afghans. Some work has already been done in recent years for registration of undocumented Afghans, but the data base will have to be updated probably under NADRA auspices to cater for the entry of new Afghans since last year. A documented population of Afghans living in Pakistan provides better opportunities for terms of their stay as well as repatriation when needed. Lack of dialogue gives our detractors, particularly India, to exploit these gaps and harm Pakistan-Afghanistan relations.

3) Maintaining dignified treatment of Afghans is important because of historic, cultural, religious and tribal linkages between the two countries. The Afghan nation has been passing through difficult times, which in future would hopefully culminate into peace, stability and progress, not only in Afghanistan but the region. People-to-people relations and common geography would provide foundations of regional connectivity with the Central Asian and the Eurasian regions in a mutually beneficial manner for both the countries. Negative vibes about each other on such issues would harm prospects of shared economic prosperity.

4) While Pakistan has been the largest recipient of Afghan refugees and unregistered Afghans for over four decades, Islamabad has not yet formulated a framework for investment of Afghans in various sectors. Many countries quite distant from Afghanistan, such as the UAE and Türkiye, have received sizable investment from Afghans particularly in real-estate and several other areas of economy. It’s high time that Pakistan should formulate a pragmatic policy for investments by prosperous Afghans. Afghan refugees living in Pakistan for decades should be part of this framework.

In conclusion, the refugee issue constitutes an important dimension of Pakistan’s strategic relations with Afghanistan. Complacency in taking care of the isolated incidents of the maltreatment of the Afghans in Pakistan or in formulation of a comprehensive long-term policy for dealing with them, is hurting our interests. Such matters need urgent attention of the relevant authorities overseeing bilateral relations.