To assess returnees’ needs, Kabul team to visit Torkham

KABUL (Pajhwok): Acting Minister of Refugees and Repatriation Maulvi Abdul Kabir on Sunday presided over a meeting to deal with the influx of refugees from Pakistan.

The meeting decided to appoint professionals to manage the refugees better when needed and to send a delegation to Torkham to assess the needs of the refugees, the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation said in a statement.

According to Pakistani media, police have started arresting and deporting Afghan refugees in Islamabad and Rawalpindi after the March 31 deadline expired.

Pakistan had set March 31 the deadline for illegal Afghans to leave the country or face forced deportation.

Since the expiry of the deadline, about a thousand families have returned to Afghanistan.

The Ministry of Refugees in its statement said discussions and decisions were made on how to better manage the new wave of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

It discussed providing facilities, solving problems and coordinating with relevant international and government institutions and organizations.

Maulvi Abdul Kabir told the meeting that in order to streamline the refugee registration process, necessary materials, equipment, and professionals should be sent to the borders, and if necessary, professional and qualified people should be appointed for the better service and management of the refugees.

He said as per the decree of the leadership of the Islamic Emirate, cooperation and assistance from Emirati institutions should be attracted to solve problems of refugees and meetings should continue with the UN High Commissioner for Refugees and its committees for coordination.

The ministry wrote that in this meeting, it was decided to send a delegation from the Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation to Torkham to assess the needs of the refugees and work together with relevant institutions to solve their problems.

According to another report, an emergency meeting was also held under the chairmanship of the Deputy Governor of Nangarhar, Maulvi Azizullah Mustafa, to support the returning Afghan refugees in the province, and aid organizations were asked to consider necessary assistance based on the needs of the returnees.

This comes at a time when Afghan officials have repeatedly called on Pakistan not to forcibly expel Afghan refugees from the country and to treat them in accordance with international refugee law.

UN experts have called on Pakistan to stop the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from other parts of the country, including Islamabad and Rawalpindi.

The Islamic Emirate and international organizations have called on Pakistan to immediately stop the forced deportation of Afghan refugees.

According to reports, there are currently about three million Afghans living in Pakistan, with one million lacking legal stay documents.

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