Government urged to generate work opportunities

SHIBERGHAN (Pajhwok): Some Afghans recently returned from Pakistan and Iran have admired government and aid providing agencies for assistance and demanded the provision of permanent shelters and job opportunities.

These returnees had been settled in the Pul-i-Khurasan Buzkashi Ground of Shiberghan and in Aqcha district and provided with emergency relief and assistance.

Most of these refugees said that they had returned empty hand and had no basic living facilities.

Gul Ahmad, one of the returnees from Pakistan is now living in Shiberghan Camp with his family, complained against the harsh behavior of Pakistani government against Afghan refugees.

He hailed the warm welcomed extended to them by the ‘Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan’ (IEA) and said: “We went to Pakistan for work but without humiliation and disrespect there was nothing, now I am happy that I had returned to the country.”

He termed unemployment and economic problems a huge challenge and asked the acting government that besides the current support to them, efforts should be made for employment generation.

Qadirullah, another newly returned Afghan who live in the camp, said he went to Pakistan due to unemployment and economic problems but he returned empty hand.

He asked the Afghan government and aid providing institutions to continue supporting them.

Referring to the difficult days in his refugee live, he said: “Afghans were made the victim for the problems that happened in Pakistan, Afghans were detained and we did not have a happy life.”

Abdul Wahid, another Afghan returnee said: “Pakistani police extort us under different pretext recently, they detained us and put us in the jail.”

“I would never migrated to Pakistan if I did not faced poverty and unemployment, we want the IEA to eradicate poverty and unemployment, when jobs are generated no one will be forced to travel to another country,” he said.

Amanullah Talha, head of the Refugees and Repatriation Department, said in line with the direction of the leadership of the IEA a delegation had been talked to monitor and inspect facilities provided to the newly returnees.

He said: “So far 750 families have come to Jawzjan from Iran and Pakistan. We have created camps for these refugees and distributed them the primary items.”

Serajuddin Seraji, head of the provincial Natural Disaster Management Department, said the newly returnees had been distributed essential live-saving packages which included one 50-kilogram bag of flour, 15-kilogram bag of rice, house appliances and winter clothes.

He said aid providing and health teams are present in the camps round the clock.

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