Kabul seeks 2 more years for Afghan refugees in Pakistan

[Devil Soul]

Tripartite meeting: Kabul seeks 2 more years for Afghan refugees in Pakistan
By Tahir Khan
Published: August 23, 2015



ISLAMABAD:
Kabul has requested Islamabad to allow nearly 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees to stay on in Pakistan for another two years, officials said on Saturday as a meeting of the representatives of both governments and the UN refugee agency concluded in the Afghan capital.

The tripartite talks focused on the fate of nearly three million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, the largest protracted refugee situation in the world. In addition to the registered refugees, Pakistan hosts another 1.5 million unregistered Afghan nationals displaced by unrest in its war-torn neighbour.

Talking to The Express Tribune, an official who attended the meeting confirmed that Kabul had asked Islamabad to allow the registered refugees to stay in Pakistan for two more years. The legal stay of 1.5 million Afghans who have been issued proof of registration (PoR) cards by the Pakistan government is set to expire by the end of this year.

“The Pakistani delegation [led by Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt-Gen (retd) Abdul Qadir Baloch] told the Afghan side that their request will be shared with concerned departments and the issue will later be discussed in the federal cabinet,” the official said.

The Pakistani delegation also presented Islamabad’s strategy to deal with the refugees during the meeting. According to a Pakistani official who participated in the meeting, Islamabad will not forcibly expel Afghan refugees. Instead, the government will encourage them to return to Afghanistan voluntarily, he said.

Under the strategy, Pakistan will also document unregistered Afghan refugees, the official toldThe Express Tribune. The government has earmarked around Rs170 million for this process which is likely to begin this month, he said.

Although the unregistered refugees will not be entitled to PoR cards once documented, they will be issued passports by the government of Afghanistan to allow them to stay on in Pakistan.

Addressing a joint news conference alongside Pakistan’s SAFRON minister in Kabul, Afghanistan’s Minister for Refugees and Repatriation Said Hussain Alimi Balkhi said his government will send a 100-member delegation to Pakistan to monitor the documentation of the unregistered refugees.

Members of the delegation will be deployed at the 21 documentation centres set up to verify the identities of unregistered Afghans, he said. “Only those Afghans whose identity is established will be documented,” Balkhi added.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 23rd, 2015.

 

[darksider]

No more delays.
Pls send them back all of them.Pakistan is not a refugees camp.

 

[M.SAAD]

Ugh, send them back already .

 

[simple Brain]

no more of a deadline please, either send them back immediately or let them travel to India, the closest allay and best friend of theirs. They cannot live without Indians than why are we being so generous to them for all these 36 bloody years? I suppose no Country in the world would tolerate any other Citizens than we have. We need strict border protection, more stricter than that off a Australia, and USA. Finish this Refugee dramas once and for all. They travel on fake passports to Europe and to other Countries where they apply for an asylum, and they rape women and children over their and of someone ask them where you from? They simply say we are Pakistanis. If you visit their shops they treat you like as if we are refugees and they are the honor of this land. We really had enough, Please would someone kick them out forever.

 

[Icewolf]

Lmao hell no

 

[hunter_hunted]

Pakistan govt need to be harsh on this matter, They are bleeding Pakistan

 

[Kakaspai]

oh now you want to use Pakistani soil Pakistani products Pakistani food

 

[lastofthepatriots]

Listen guys, I know you are frustrated, but I have met many good Afghans in Pakistan, so cursing at them is completely out of line. Not "all" of them are thankless and anti-Pakistan.

 

[Sheikh Rauf]

Refugee's sud be sent to their lovable buddy india.. if Kabul cant accept let New delhi have them...they wanna train them as terrorist or intellectual agains Pakistan.. do it! you can have em all.. but no more in Pakistan.. and if your indian back gov mullah's wanted to impose jehad against Pakistan lets do it.. we have capacity to protect ourself fro east and west..
May God Protect My Pak Land (ameen)

 

[In arduis fidelis]

I see no reason for not letting them stay for 2 years more on humanitarian ground.It would be better for us not to stoop to their level.
They have been anti Pakistan since the day one yet we let them stay here for 36 years,2 more years doesn't make any difference.

 

[Pakistanisage]

The answer to this should be an absolute NO. There have been enough extensions for these illegal aliens as they have worn out their welcome.

 

[Sipahi]

Ask them to declare *Rooh Afza* their national drink before agreeing

 

[saiyan0321]

So let me get this straight. After all those talks of hot pursuit and ban Pakistan and anti-pakistan statements they come begging and crawling on their knees asking us to give them a favor about keeping their refugees for two more years.

I say no. If they want strained diplomatic relations then we should not try to give them any favors... That's two years of our resources being wasted on an ungrateful bunch. Time to end this. Pakistan should say that in a span of one year we will send back all the refugees during that year in small groups so we hope that Afghanistan makes good arrangements otherwise they can sleep in caves as long as its not our land.

 

[macnurv]

The Pakistani delegation also presented Islamabad’s strategy to deal with the refugees during the meeting. According to a Pakistani official who participated in the meeting, Islamabad will not forcibly expel Afghan refugees. Instead, the government will encourage them to return to Afghanistan voluntarily, he said.

HELL NO!!!! Yes make it too damn difficult for them to stay in Pakistan, these good for nothing Afghans long ran out their welcome.

Listen guys, I know you are frustrated, but I have met many good Afghans in Pakistan, so cursing at them is completely out of line. Not "all" of them are thankless and anti-Pakistan.

Yeah right, still makes no difference its about time they are sent back to their so called beautiful country.

I see no reason for not letting them stay for 2 years more on humanitarian ground.It would be better for us not to stoop to their level.
They have been anti Pakistan since the day one yet we let them stay here for 36 years,2 more years doesn't make any difference.

Nope, we shouldnt allow them even a day, forget about 2 years.

 

[Viny]

A planned process should be formed between two countries, which ensures smooth and safe return of refugees with proper rehab plans. Pakistan specifically need to be much careful about how the return is processed, as this would surely lead to many ill feelings about pakistan which could hurt pakistan in long term. Although Pakistan cannot make all of them happy, but efforts should be done to have minimum image loss.

Otherwise this issue will become a bigger issue than Afgan war and could be very disastrous too. And enemies of Pakistan will surely like too cook upon it, as an unrest mass which is diffused in local population is very dangerous situation.

Unlike animals, the repartion of the refugees would take time, formation of India and Pakistan has already seen what happens when people are moved, probably experinces from history can help pakistan and afganistan to ensure a smooth transition.

If Afganisthan is asking for 2 more years, Pakistan should get involved with Afganistan to figure out why they want two more years and how they plan to take the refugee after two years.On basis of that formulate the plans.