Pakhtun nationalists want deportations halted

PESHAWAR (Pajhwok): Leaders of Pakistan’s Pakhtun nationalist parties have called for an immediate halt to the ongoing deportations of Afghan refugees.

They issued the call at a joint press conference in Quetta, the capital of southwestern Balochistan province, on Wednesday.

The speakers included leaders of AwamiNational Party (ANP), Pashtunkhwa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP), National Democratic Movement (NDP) and Pakhtun Tahaffuz Movement (PTM).

While denouncing the government’s repatriation campaign, they said Afghan refugees were protected under Pakistan’sCitizenship Act and enjoyed rights.

Several generations of Afghans wereborn and raised in Pakistan, they noted, citing rulings of the Federal Shariat Court and the Peshawar High Court against the crackdown on refugees.

At a meeting earlier at the ANP office in Quetta, the nationalist leaders also voiced their grave concern at the worsening security environment in Balochistan.

Blaming Afghan refugees for Pakistan’s problems made no sense, insisted the nationalists, who reminded the government and its law-enforcement personnel of their duty to ensure peace.

A five-member committee was constituted to forge coordination with political parties and devise a future strategy against deportations.

They also demanded the withdrawal of trumped-up cases against Pakhtun leaders, including Ali Wazir, and the release of missing people.

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