ISLAMABAD: The future of over three million Afghanistan refugees residing legally in Pakistan remains uncertain, as the Interior Ministry has made it mandatory for Afghanistan nationals to obtain a no objection certificate (NOC) to stay in Islamabad beyond December 31st.
Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi, on Wednesday, announced that Afghanistan nationals would not be allowed to stay in Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) without proper authorisation after December 31. He said Afghanistan citizens wishing to stay in the federal capital beyond this year must get NoC from the deputy commissioner.
The announcement came a day after the government claimed that hardened criminals, including Afghanistan nationals, were part of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI)’s “violent protest”.
According to available UNHCR statistics, total registered Afghanistan refugees in Pakistan are around 1.4 million who have held Proof of Registration (PoR) cards. In July this year, the federal cabinet extended the validity of PoR cards, by one more year to June 30, 2025.
Additionally, those who hold Afghan Citizenship Card (ACC) are about 0.8 million besides 0.6 million undocumented Afghan migrants.
According to official sources, around 700,000 new Afghans have arrived in Pakistan since the Taliban takeover in August 2021.
Majority of them want to move to other countries. Sources said that majority of legal Afghans are living in Islamabad or adjoining areas and they have been bound to obtain permission from DC from January 1st 2025.
A senior analyst on Afghanistan affairs, Tahir Khan, said that the Interior Ministry’s decision is not less than discrimination against legal Afghans because Pakistan was bound under Tripartite Agreement between Pakistan, Afghanistan and the UNHCR to host them. Tahir Khan said, government should take punitive action those Afghans involved in crimes but not those who are peace loving and law abiding. He added that the decision will earn bad name for Pakistan internationally.
Former Pakistan’s ambassador to Kabul Rustam Shah Mohmand has severely criticised Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi’s decision. Afghans are being targeted in the pretext of one rival political party, he said. Mohmand emphasised that everyone knows that Taliban regime in Kabul is fragile and international community will not listen to them. Taliban interim government has been normalising its relations with Russia and other central Asian countries but they are distancing from Pakistan, which is a matter of grave concern, he added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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