ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly Standing Committee on States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) showed its great concern over the illegal influx of Afghan nationals in Pakistan in a large number without their registration by the quarters concerned after the Taliban takeover of the country on August 15, 2021.
The meeting of the committee was chaired by Ibadullah Khan, as its chairman, Mohammad Jamalud Din did not participate due to health issues.
While discussing the illegal influx of Afghan nationals into Pakistan in the wake of regime change in Afghanistan in August last year, the committee expressed its deep concern over the free moment of unregistered Afghan nationals without any restrictions and legal documents in the country, besides running businesses in major cities, especially in Karachi and Peshawar, without paying taxes to the government of Pakistan.
After taking input from the members, the chair decided that the secretary Ministry of Interior, secretaries, home departments of all the provinces would be invited to the next meeting to discuss the issue of unregistered Afghan nationals living mostly in urban areas of the country and to chalk-out a mechanism to stop them on the border areas.
Senior officers of the Ministry of SAFRON informed the committee that Pakistan has been generously hosting millions of Afghans for the last four decades. They said that currently, there are three categories of Afghans living in Pakistan that includes 1.4 million Registered Proof of Registration (POR) card holders, 840,000 Afghan Citizen Card holders (ACC) and estimated by various agencies 0.7 million undocumented Afghans.
Commissioner Afghan Refugees Headquarter Muhammad Abbas Khan also shared the issues and challenges in the repatriation of the Afghan refugees, including the insufficient livelihood opportunities and due to non-conducive environment in Afghanistan.
He further said that the process of repatriation of Afghan refugees remained slow, after the withdrawal of US-NATO forces from Afghanistan.
He further told the committee that that Pakistan is not giving refugee status to those Afghan nationals who have arrived in the country after August 15, 2021, and the government can only give them shelter.
The committee deferred the agenda item regarding the alleged possession of FATA House, Islamabad, by the federal government, however, the said house was constructed from FATA annual development fund for official use by the parliamentarians/ officers of FATA with the direction that the secretary, Ministry of Interior must attend the next meeting to brief the committee on the said issue.
The meeting was attended by Ch Mohammad Ashraf, Naveed Ameer Jeeva, Afreen Khan, Shakila Luqman, Nuzhat Pathan, Nasiba Channa and officers from the ministry and its attached departments.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022
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