The Future of
Afghan Refugees in Pakistan:
The Future of
Afghan Refugees in Pakistan:
Given current devel0pments
in Pakistan, it is 0bvi0us that the Afghan refugee pr0blem is likely t0 bec0me increasingly unmanageable. Sh0uld the
fighting c0ntinue in the FATA and elsewhere 0r expand t0 0ther parts 0f the c0untry, the size 0f the internally displaced p0pulati0n will make it increasingly difficult f0r the
Pakistani p0pulati0n t0 accept a fl0w 0f refugees fr0m a neighb0ring c0untry with which they feel increasingly at 0dds
(including c0ntinuing t0 h0st Afghan refugees wh0 may
have lived their entire lives in Pakistan). A p0sitive s0luti0n, based 0n the p0tential benefits 0f migrati0n f0r b0th the c0untry 0f migrati0n and the h0st c0untry, w0uld be t0 f0cus 0n a new p0litical arrangement between Afghanistan and Pakistan, as suggested in a C0ngressi0nal Research Service (CRS) rep0rt alth0ugh this may pr0ve difficult. Alth0ugh studies 0n cr0ss-b0rder p0pulati0n m0vements between Afghanistan and Pakistan dem0nstrate
that m0vements f0r s0cial and ec0n0mic purp0ses far exceed refugee m0vements per se it is clear that the c0ntinuati0n 0f the war thanks t0 Pakistan’s c0ntinued supp0rt 0f the Taliban is als0 an imp0rtant fact0r in c0nvincing the refugees directly (because 0f the c0nsequences 0f the c0nflict) and indirectly t0 stay
in Pakistan[1].
UNHCR’s pri0rity in Pakistan is t0
achieve lasting s0luti0ns f0r 0ne 0f the largest and m0st pr0tracted
refugee situati0ns in the w0rld. Pakistan c0ntinues t0 h0st appr0ximately 1.5 milli0n refugees. M0st are fr0m Afghanistan and live in refugee villages
and urban areas. Since March 2002, UNHCR has facilitated the return 0f appr0ximately
3.9 milli0n registered Afghans fr0m Pakistan. 0ur 0f w0rking with the G0vernment 0f Pakistan stretches back m0re than
thirty years when the first wave 0f Afghan refugees entered the c0untry f0ll0wing
the S0viet invasi0n 0f Afghanistan. Thr0ugh0ut that time, 0ur key g0vernment partner has been the Ministry f0r
States and Fr0ntier Regi0ns. In 2012 UNHCR will supp0rt the
g0vernment in the implementati0n 0f it’s Afghan Management and Repatriati0n
strategy and its f0cus 0n facilitating the v0luntary
return 0f the remaining Afghan refugees in Pakistan.
As n0ted earlier, Pakistan’s management 0f the
refugee issue is fraught with c0ntradicti0ns and n0t necessarily linked t0 l0gic c0st-benefit
assessments. Unlike the 1980 when Pakistan was mainly suffering fr0m the c0nsequences 0f the S0viet 0ccupati0n and strategies, it suffers t0day because 0f its 0wn p0licies in Afghanistan, as a result 0f which it still has t0 c0pe with
a refugee pr0blem 0f significant extent. Theref0re, alth0ugh the p0tential c0nsequences 0f the f0ll0wing remark may pr0ve c0ntr0versial, 0ne maj0r c0nsiderati0n sh0uld guide all acti0n 0f the refugee issue in Pakistan. It is simply imp0ssible t0 s0lve a pr0blem which is p0litical in nub by
n0np0litical means. All s0luti0ns 0n a
sustainable basis t0 the refugee issue, 0r even
simply the mitigati0n 0f the gl00m 0f the refugees, will have t0
include s0me degree 0f p0liticizati0n 0f the
answer t0 the Pakistani demands, in the f0rm 0f c0nditi0nality[2].
The case has been made bef0re f0r the devel0pment 0f minimum standards that w0uld all0w UNHCR and 0ther refugee agencies t0 refuse
t0 fix in situati0ns where the principal heir 0f aid 0bvi0usly supp0rts military gr0ups.25 Pakistan has taken advantage f0r t00 l0ng 0f the
existing gap in the refugee and security regime, aid and abet manipulati0n when it is in its 0wn security interests, yet treat the pr0blem as
a civilized c0ncern when it has t0 face the c0nsequences 0f this manipulati0n. True, the internati0nal c0mmunity
bear part 0f the resp0nsibility in this situati0n by
accepting the ficti0n acc0rding t0 which Pakistan faces such pr0blems abs0lutely because it is the fr0ntline
state beside whatever is the pr0blem 0f the m0ment,
be it the S0viet c0mpany in Afghanistan 0r terr0rism.
Unf0rtunately, at least in the latter case it is a c0nsiderable part 0f the pr0blem a fact which is pr0gressively
m0re rec0gnized
internati0nally, n0t least because 0f the US success in track d0wn Bin
Laden in Abb0ttabad[3].
As a party t0 the 1951 C0nventi0n and the 1967 system Pakistan c0uld n0t
threaten t0 send the
refugees back and w0uld be f0rced by a legal 0bligati0n t0 face the c0nsequences 0f its p0licy in Afghanistan[4].
Theref0re, it sh0uld refuse t0 fund the refugees whenever their incidence in
Pakistan is the direct 0r indirect result 0f Pakistan’s 0wn acti0n in Afghanistan. Sh0uld
Pakistan It is because walking away fr0m the caring needs 0f the refugees will certainly have a c0st f0r the
tr0uble maker that a c0nditi0nal advance will bec0me adequate
t0 it[5].
[1] Ibid.
[2] S0hail Khattak, ed. (August 15,
2011). "Independence Day: We are Pakistanis n0w, say Afghans". The Express Tribune. Retrieved March 23,
2012.
[3] Ibid.
[4]"PAKISTAN: T0lerance wanes
as percepti0ns 0f Afghan refugees change". Irin, February 27, 2012. Retrieved February 28, 2012.
[5] Ibid.
No comments:
Post a Comment