Kabul asks Pakistan be soft on refugees

KABUL to expel unregistered Afghan refugees living in the country and asked the neighboring government to take a softer position.

In a statement on Sunday, the ministry said it has taken the issue of expelling Afghan refugees from Pakistan seriously.

In mid-May, Islamabad announced it would expel Pakistan-based Afghan refugees without legal documents.

Currently, 1.7 million Afghans are living legally in Pakistan and about one million are residing there without legal documents, and most of them are based in Khyber Pakhtonkhwah province.

The statement said:”The ministry is grateful to Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees over the past three decades and any unilateral decision against Afghan refugees will put them in deep  trouble.”

It said the ministry was trying to resolve the issue through diplomatic channels and negotiations.  

“We are committed to international rules like human rights, children rights, family rights and refugees’ rights and Pakistan is also committed to the international rules and we hope it should be practically considered.”

The ministry said their proposed draft would be discussed at the minister’s council and would take a stern decision to settle the issue in cooperation with national and international agencies.

mm/vp