- Only those who choose to return voluntarily are repatriated.
- Afghan families are hosted in two KP relaxation centers.
- According to the UNHCR, there are 2.1 million Afghans documented in Pakistan.
Peshawar: The cartography process for unpaid foreign cards and cards of Afghan citizens (ACC) is currently underway in various parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, but no strict measure is taken, after the assurance of chief minister Ali Amin Gandapur that no national Afghan will be refreshing, The news reported.
According to a police officer, no action has been initiated against Afghan families in part of the province. Those who choose to return voluntarily are assisted by the authorities concerned.
“The cartography is underway in different parts of the provincial capital,” said the main superintendent of police operations Masood Ahmad Bangash at The news. The Federal Government had ordered the repatriation of foreigners holders of unmanned and Afghan citizens’ cards after the deadline of March 31. The repatriation has started from Punjab, Sindh and the Federal Capital via Torkham.
Afghan families from other provinces are temporarily organized in two relaxation centers in Peshawar and Khyber before their repatriation in Afghanistan. However, police and administration in KP have not been ordered by the provincial government to so far take no measure against ACC holders.
“We have been informed by the elderly that no one will be forced to leave. Only those who want to leave voluntarily are repatriated,” said an official.
There are countless videos on social networks in which families voluntarily returning after decades of stay in Pakistan received an emotional farewell by the inhabitants. Many Afghans staying in Pakistan for about 45 years have developed close relations with the inhabitants, and some have even made the knot with the inhabitants. Several cases of these families are also in court.
According to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are 2.1 million Afghans documented in Pakistan, and the majority of them settled in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Of the 2.1 million, more than 800,000 are ACC holders, while around 1.3 million have proof registration cards (POR).
Although no action is underway in KP, many families have started to pack their homeland because of an uncertain future after spending more than four decades in Pakistan.
They include tens of thousands of those who were born in Pakistan and have barely visited their country with all their lives. Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghans for almost five decades since the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.
While hundreds of thousands of families have returned to their country in recent years, more than 2.1 million still live in KP and other provinces. Some ministries have put the number of Afghans in Pakistan more than three million.
These do not include undocumented foreigners, as well as those who have obtained Pakistani documents. The UNHCR recently expressed its concerns about the process.
“The UNHCR is concerned about the last directive, as among the Afghan citizen cards, there may be individuals requiring international protection. In this day, we urge the government to see their situation through a humanitarian lens,” said Qaiser Khan Afridi, the spokesperson for Cush.
