A truck carrying an Afghan family drives towards the border crossing at Torkham, Pakistan. File image/AP
Amid rising tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan, Islamabad has reportedly begun the second phase of its controversial plan to force Afghan refugees back to their home country.
according to Al JazeeraPakistan on Sunday launched the second phase of its deportation drive, in which authorities are expected to expel more than 800,000 Afghans. About 541,000 Afghan refugees were forced to leave the country in the first phase of the plan, implemented last November.
What makes the plan controversial is the fact that if these people do not leave the country voluntarily, the refugees will eventually be arrested and deported by local Pakistani authorities.
Why was such a plan necessary?
Before the first phase of repatriation began, the Pakistani government at the time claimed there were about 4.4 million Afghan refugees in the country, of whom an estimated 1.73 million were in the country illegally. The government later defended the crackdown, citing security concerns, and stressed the difficulty of supporting the refugees in an already collapsed economy.
It is important to note that the expulsion order came amid a surge in militant attacks across Pakistan, a situation that was further complicated by the government’s attributing these attacks to Afghanistan-based groups and nationals, accusations that the Taliban regime in Kabul has strongly denied.
Within months, the controversial plan had also attracted criticism at the international level: last November, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Turk said he was “alarmed” by reports of Afghan refugees being persecuted in Pakistan.
“These new developments are at odds with Pakistan’s decades-long tradition of generously hosting large numbers of Afghan refugees,” Turk said in a statement.
“Many Afghans are facing forced bribes and having their property confiscated, as well as being forced to leave their homes and jobs and arriving with few funds. Given the current situation in Afghanistan, this is exacerbating an already precarious humanitarian situation,” the UN official further said.
Philippa Candler, the representative of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Islamabad, said: Al Jazeera Before expelling these illegal Afghans, Pakistani authorities should profile them as they may be “in need of international protection,” he said.
“These are refugees. They’re not involved in terrorist activity. They’re just people who have fled and they need protection,” Candler said, adding that if Afghan nationals were involved in terrorist activity “that should be dealt with separately.”
It is important to note that Pakistan is not a signatory to the 1951 UN Convention protecting the rights of refugees. Moreover, the country has no domestic laws protecting refugees or individuals seeking international protection within the country.
With input from the agency.
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