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Afghan refugees and Pakistan

Though Afghanistan can now thump its chest for a string of successes, for it has demonstrated a good graph in recent months; nevertheless, it faces a new challenge as world's biggest cluster of refugees to see expulsion from Pakistan in near future. The news of expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan and well as from Iran are afloat in media for the past few weeks, but Kabul has gone into hibernation over the issue. It seems that Kabul until now has dealt with the issue by burying its head in sands like an ostrich, but it should know that is not the solution. Now, Kabul will have to brace itself for this new challenge, and if no serious heed is given to this issue, things will go from bad to worse. Pakistan has already made it public that it plans to revoke refugee status for all Afghans living in that country. This will happen at the end of this year, which ultimately will leave some three million Afghan refugees displaced. If the world’s biggest cluster of refugees is expelled, it will give birth to a host of challenges but as well as to certain opportunities too. Their expulsion from Pakistan will bring those young Afghan refugees who can put their experiences and skills behind the development of their own homeland, because many Afghans have learnt skilled professions in Pakistan’s factories in Faisalabad, Lahore and Karachi. Whereas the flow of foreign remittances, which once was towards Pakistan, will get diversion towards Afghanistan as those Afghans who are living outside Pakistan but sending their remittances to their families in Pakistan will change it course towards this war-wracked country. It will have another advantage as it will reduce Afghans dependency on Pakistan whereas they wouldn’t be used against their own country—Afghanistan. If they are returned home with proper management from the government, the turnout of Afghan Madrasa students would likely be affected because until now a large number of Afghans refugees are brainwashed in Pakistani religious seminaries. With retardation in this trend, Afghanistan will see a marked decrease in suicide bombers and militant fighters. Though baffling with the refugees to settle them back at home is an onerous and herculean task; it is because Afghanistan is already struggling with an insurgency and an economy almost entire dependent on the western presence and aids and donations from the Asian Development Bank, as the Afghanistan’s 95 percent GDP is indebted to the bank. Nevertheless, if the world community supports Afghanistan with the same pace as it has been doing for the past eleven years, then it can handle the situation in an effective manner. When Afghan refugees made exodus from here and went to Pakistan, at that time Pakistan was a newly born state. However, it managed to bear them, then why Afghanistan shies away with relocating and resettling them at their homeland. Is it simply because our ruling elite have no time to ponder over ways and means how to tackle the issue?
The west and other international partners have been pressing Pakistan to reconsider its policy and decision, however Islamabad is determined to see its decision implemented and through. Pakistan’s top administrator in charge of the Afghan refugee issue, Habibullah Khan, secretary of the ministry for states and frontier region, while in an exclusive interview to The Guardian had already said that Islamabad wouldn’t relent. “The international community is pressing Pakistan to review this policy but we are clear on this point. The refugees have become a threat to law and order, security, demography, economy and local culture. Enough is enough,” he responded to the Guardian. When they have shown their determination, the slumber of Kabul and slackness of the officials concerned over the issue is worth lamenting as once Afghan refugees status is revoked, then baffling with the issue for the Afghan government would be no less than a head-reeling challenge. Therefore, the need is to start homework for the likely challenge that is hovering upon our heads as sooner or later the government will have to cope with the challenge so why not to start preparation for it from now.

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