Consider historic ties in expelling Afghans, Hanafi tells Pakistan

JALALABAD (Pajhwok): Deputy Prime Minister for Administrative Affairs Maulvi Abdul Salam Hanafi has asked relevant authorities to resolve problems Afghan refugees being forcibly deported from Pakistan face.

Hanafi, who visited Torkham on Thursday along with members of the High Commission for Resolving Refugee Problems and other officials, said that the Islamic Emirate plans to resolve all problems of the refugees.

He told a press conference in Torkham that while Afghan refugees possessed legal documents to reside in Pakistan, the neighboring country still started forcibly deporting them against the principles of neighborliness and other international principles.

The Deputy Prime Minister assured the returning refugees that the Islamic Emirate had established a high commission to resolve their problems, and all relevant agencies and aid organizations were working tirelessly in this regard.

Addressing the Pakistani government, he said refugees’ neighborliness and Islamic rights should not be violated.

“Our neighbors are also obliged by Islamic, neighborliness and international principles not to harm the refugees. Their belongings, their equipment, and the issue of their stay there must be preserved.”

“We have historical relations with Pakistan, which must be taken into account,” Hanafi said.

According to him, all relevant agencies of the Islamic Emirate are working at Torkham and other gates to resolve the problems of the refugees so that the refugees can return to their homes without any delay or problem.

He said first refugees were registered and biometrically verified in Torkham before being provided with initial assistance.

And then, by utilizing all facilities available, the ground is being prepared for the refugees to easily return to their provinces, districts, and villages, he continued.

Hanafi was accompanied by Telecommunications and Information Technology Minister Maulvi Najibullah Hayat Haqqani, the Governor of Nangarhar, Mullah Mohammad Naeem Akhund, the Director General of Bakhtar News Agency, Maulvi Zia-ul-Haq Haqmal, and a number of other senior officials.

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