Poor law and order situation: government to give shelter to 1.7 million more Afghans

Though an uninterrupted influx of people from Afghanistan is considered to be responsible for poor law and order condition in the country, the government has agreed to shelter some 1.7 million more Afghan refugees till 2012. Sources told Business Recorder on Thursday that the government has signed an agreement in this connection with UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) last March.
Elaborating details about the agreement, they said Pakistan would continue to shelter Afghan refugees, and would provide land to some 1.7 million more Afghan refugees till 2012. However, over 3.5million Afghans are enjoying asylum in Pakistan for almost quarter of century, who are reportedly involved in smuggling of arms and ammunition, creating law and order problem in the country.
Despite the fact that the influx of Afghans is causing law and order problem in the Pakistan, the government has opened its borders for Afghan refugees, they said. However, Pakistan is not a party to either the 1951 Convention or the 1967 Protocol relating to the Status of Refugees, they maintained.
To a question, they said the government of Pakistan is treating all Afghans, either they are refugees or illegal immigrants, as refugees and shrug off its responsibility pertaining to their repatriation. They criticised the policy regarding Afghans departure, saying that the government did not evolve any plan for their return and is just keeping eyes on UNHCR assisted voluntary repatriation programme.
When contacted, Gul Muhammad Rind, Director General, National Aliens Registration Authority (NARA) said that authority has not any policy to issue NARA cards to Afghans and they come under UNHCR programme. He said that NARA has sent a proposal to the ministry of Interior for revisiting its policy, adding NARA cards should also be issued to Afghans, which would definitely help maintain law and order in the country.
Expressing apprehension over the issue, saying that the law and order situation would be further deteriorated, if the government did not induct Afghans in the registration process. He said the law enforcement agencies (LEAs) are facing difficulty in improving law and order situation in the country owing to unavailability of records. If NARA cards were issued to Afghans, LEAs would trace Afghans on a single click, he claimed.
To a question, he said President Asif Ali Zardari is keen to make a comprehensive plan for registration of all illegal immigrants except Afghans and has directed the Sindh government to evolve flawless strategy. He said that Sindh government has decided to make Illegal Immigrant Registration Policy (IIRP) mandatory to employers before recruiting any illegal immigrant. He expected that the Sindh government would enforce IIRP within two months.
He said that the authority has commenced awareness campaign regarding the benefit of NARA registration and is convincing all recruiting agencies to register their alien workforce. For this purpose, authority has taken all city police stations and town nazims on board. He further said that NARA is extending its operation and has planned to open its regional office at Islamabad next month.