While we do need to deport those who registered and want to go home, we need to understand we allowed them to enter Pakistan in 1979 as well.
It is now our responsibility to accept them as well, those atleast that want to integrate, if they dont want to, they can be sent back.
According to UN statistics, nearly 60% of the refugees, aged 30 and below were born in pakistan and know only that Pakistan is their country.
We have not done a proper job in rehabilitating and integrating them into our beloved country Pakistan. Infact, there is no system in place.
We still havent learned from the mistakes we've made inthe past. Just look at the mess Karachi and interior Sindh is in as a result of us not rehabilitating people and indoctrining them into Pakistan through a proper procedure.
This is not an issue of money, but the issue of the job of a nation, its simply something that must be done.
A proper system would have better assimilated and given the tools to people to integrate in Pakistans diverse social dynamic.
Its done in every other country in the world, the system requires Centres to be established, a few symbolic facts about our country Pakistan need to be taught, learning of the national anthem, our motto, issuing an ID card etc...) while this may sound mundane, boring and even non-siginificant to many, the fact of the matter is, by just going through this process, you instill a sense of identity, of belonging and by default the process creates order and a better transition into society.
This lack of system is why you'll find certain segmants of the urdu speaking population to pakistan who have lived in Sindh for nearly 60 years who still cant speak a word of Sindhi, referring to themselves as hindostani and not fully accepted into the social fabric. i have met Urdu refugee families that live in Peshawer, that cant even speak a word of Pashto depite living there for 3 generations and still refer to themselves as hindostani. We should start deporting them as well.
We've had many ''communities'' with which we should have done this with, The millions of Kashmiri refugees, the Iranian refugees, the Goan refugees etc.. etc...
Here we are repeating the same thing again with the Afghan refugees. We ironically, welcomed them into our country, and left them in ''TEMPORARY'' camps not for a few years but for 30 years without any plan or system of rehabilitation or factoring in the fact that all those that live in the camps or elsewhere in pakistan that are 30 years or less, are technically Pakistani citizens and were born, have lived and know only Pakistan. In many cases, they know and have seen all parts of Pakistan better than many non-afghan Pakistani's. Furthermore, they are an important link connecting us and Afghanistan, they need our help and support. So while I do understand the knee jerk reaction to blame Afghans especially with all the nonsense that comes out of certain nationalistic sections of the Afghan community and with the indian propoganda, an important opportunity is being neglected by Pakistanis. Many of them are Pakistani's now. We have a fundamental obligation and right to give them full rights and be treated with respect and dignity. In saying this, I have so sympathy for any terrorist or collaborators, they should be punished severely, but I will not allow nor do I believe in collective punishment. Some of my best friends in Pakistan were Pakistani of Afghan decent, there parents had come as refugees to Pakistan, but they were for all intents and purpose, Pakistanis. I could count on them and the same was true vice-versa.
By simply casting them out, we are denying them of their birthright and as someone pointed out, allowing them to become paws and used by others. Which has been the case.
We need to integrate them better, learn from our past and evolve an effective system to do so.
