Afghan refugees’ protest in Islamabad enters 6th day

KABUL (Pajhwok): As their protest in Islamabad entered the 6^th day, Afghan asylum-seekers say the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has not yet addressed their problems.

Dozens of Afghan refugees in Pakistan have been protesting in Islamabad over the failure of the UNHCR to review their immigration cases.

Clad in white clothes, the Afghan asylum-seekers carried coloured placards inscribed with the slogan: “Please kill us.”

In a video clip, they said: “We don’t want anything else but urge the international community to help us settle in another country.”

Mujeeb Qarizada, one of the protestors, told Pajhwok Afghan News their protest entered the sixth day but the UNHCR had not address their problems yet.

He said since August 2021, a vast majority of Afghans had chosen to stay in Pakistan before their resettlement in another country.

The protestor included a woman, who said: “Previously, we protested but the UNHCR did not resolve our problem. Currently, we only want to be shifted to a third country.”

Another demonstrator said: “After last year’s political change in Afghanistan, we came to Islamabad. The UN gave us refugee cards, but we have not received any aid so far and face a difficult situation. Now our request to the UN is to kill us.”

The protestors alleged over the last six days, no attention had been paid to them by the international community or the world body.

sa/mud