Afghan refugee uncertainty torments that face the deportation from Pakistan
In a settlement of refugees on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, Afghan families gathered on Sunday to observe the Eid al-Adha-Non festival in joyful celebration, but in silent apprehension. Monday, thousands of people I called the Pakistan house for generations face a deportation deadline and an uncertain, perhaps dangerous future.
From the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979, millions of Afghan sought refuge in nearby Pakistan, fleeing waves of violence and instability. Over the decades, many have returned home, but conflicts and political upheavals continue to send hundreds of thousands.
The last wave of movement followed the Acquisition of Taliban in Afghanistan In August 2021, after the collapse of the government supported by the United States of Ashraf Ghani. They included refugees who had been promised to reset to the United States.
Many now face the mandatory repatriation, with a deadline on Monday 31 March – a decision that was announced only last month, triggering a widespread fear.
“As a companion Muslim nation and close, Pakistan should show compassion and grant refugees more time to prepare,” said Haji Abdullah Bukhari, leader of the community in Karachi. “Eying their lives in a few days is impossible. Many have spent decades here, and now they are forced to return to a country they barely know.”
The deportation during the Pakistan of the Afghan refugees derives from the growing frustration for the Taliban administration, which accuses of protecting the Pakistani militants, in particular Tehreek-and-Talyl Pakistan or TTP, Responsible for mortal attacks within Pakistan. The Taliban deny these accusations, but tensions continue to rise.
In 2023, Pakistan hundreds of thousands of Afghans expels – both documented and without documents. However, most refugees waiting for resettment in western countries was largely spared thanks to diplomatic interventions.
Their destiny, however, became increasingly uncertain in January when President Trump issued an executive order Suspend all admissions to refugees to the United States. This decision has left thousands of Afghans Blocked in Pakistan.
In February, Pakistan announced its plans to repatriate Afghan citizens waiting for resettment by March 31, together with 800,000 owners of Afghan cards issued by Pakistan and an unknown number of Afghan migrants without documents.
The decision triggered a widespread discomfort, in particular among those most vulnerable to the Taliban persecution, including former Afghan government and security officials, activists for women’s rights and journalists.
“Many have told us that they fear prison, torture or even execution if Pakistan sent them back with the force in Afghanistan,” said Moniza Kakar, a lawyer with The joint action committee for refugeesA network of Pakistani civil society that supports international intervention and support for life safeguarding.
AbaazA global campaign that works to guarantee humanitarian visas for a group of 60 activists for the rights of Afghan women blocked in Pakistan, has also expressed deep concern for deportation.
Among the affected people there is Samia Hamza, an activist for women’s rights and former law student and international relations under the financed in the United States Denton program. After the Taliban seized power, he protested against the ban on the education of the girls, endangering.
While the conditions worsened at the end of 2021, she he fled to Pakistan. However, since then he has faced serious discrimination and economic difficulties waiting for the United States to reset through the Special views for immigration for Afghan plan.
Like many Afghan, it was devastated by the decision of the Trump administration to stop new immigrants. “Since then we have not heard anything about our case,” said Hamza, who lives with his husband and four children in Islamabad. “With the threat of deportation, returning to Afghanistan means facing serious dangers.”
The Pakistani government has excluded the extension of the deadline for deportation despite the appeals of international organizations and the Taliban administration. By justifying its repression on Afghan, the government has attracted parallelisms to the deportation efforts in progress in the United States and various European countries.
Meanwhile, Philippa Candler, representative of Pakistan the United Nations Agency for refugees, He urged Pakistan and Afghanistan to guarantee voluntary and safe returns. “Forced returns do not help anyone and are not sustainable – many deportees have already returned in 2023.”
Many Afghan remember Terrifying scenes of the Expulsions of 2023Fearing the moment when the police contingents could arrive: knock on the doors, round the families in trucks and transfer them to detention centers before forcing them to Afghanistan.
“We are all praying for a miracle that Pakistan will stop deportations in a country that my children have never seen,” said Naik Bakht, an Afghan refugee who arrived in Karachi in 1996. A father of three children, all born in Pakistan, said he fears for their future.
“I’m terrified. What will we do in Afghanistan? Where will we go? How will we survive?”
