Sao Paulo
Amid criticism from human rights groups and the United Nations, Pakistan this week began detaining migrants, particularly Afghans, after the deadline for more than 1.7 million undocumented immigrants to leave the country expired.
The call to stop the expulsion was made by the Taliban, who have been back in Kabul since August 2021. Without mentioning Islamabad, the regime demanded in a public statement on Wednesday (1) that neighboring states “practice tolerance in the spirit of a good, Islamic neighborhood.” “Brotherhood and human affection” in dealing with refugees.
They also blamed the “invasions and wars” of the last 45 years for the forced migration of Afghans to neighboring countries, ignoring the fact that the return of the repressive Islamic fundamentalist regime was one of the factors that led to mass migration.
At the beginning of October, the Pakistani government stipulated that all illegal immigrants must leave the country by this Wednesday (1st). Islamabad states that more than 140,000 people have voluntarily left for Afghanistan in the last few weeks less than 10% of those threatened.
This is a significant increase compared to the general Afghan return movement. UN data shows that 37,000 migrants have left Pakistan to return to their country in the last seven years just a quarter of the total who crossed the border last month.
The IOM itself, the UN migration department that helps the Pakistani government legalize immigrants, has sounded the alarm: 84% of the approximately 38,000 Afghans who left Pakistan in the first two weeks of this month said they did so “out of fear “done to be arrested,” an agency survey found.
It is a common story among Afghans in the country, who report harassment, particularly from public security forces. Hamid, an Afghan who lives with his children, his wife, his mother and his sisters on the outskirts of the capital, reported a month ago of frequent blackmail by police officers.
In a new conversation with the reporter, the immigrant, who has a Pakistani visa so theoretically is not on the list of those who have to leave explains that since this Tuesday (31) police officers have knocked on his door more than once. Your home with “meaningless questions.”
“Why don’t you leave our country? You have the safest country now, you should go back. “How did you survive here?” they asked.
The local government has set up detention centers in various parts of the country to accommodate immigrants who do not leave the country. In the last two weeks, the flow of refugees in the border towns of Torkham and Chaman has increased significantly. International warnings about the seriousness of the situation also increased.
In her speech in Geneva, the spokeswoman for the UN High Commissioner for Refugees UNHCR drew attention to the upcoming snow season in Afghanistan, which lasts from October to April. “Mass deportations will worsen the already dire humanitarian crisis in the country, which is facing the devastating impact of a series of earthquakes last month that killed at least 1,400 people,” said Ravina Shamdasani.
According to the UN Humanitarian Office, about 30 million Afghans out of a total of 43 million need humanitarian assistance to survive.
Concerns increased given the scenario last winter, the most extreme in 15 years in the Central Asian country with temperatures below 34°C. Last January alone, the Taliban regime reported that 160 people had died as a result of the cold.
Organizations such as the NGO Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders say the situation is even more dangerous for children, many of whom have been displaced by recent conflicts or natural disasters such as frequent earthquakes.
It is estimated that 600,000 children under the age of five are malnourished. Most do not have access to vaccinations and basic medical treatment.
In the face of criticism, Pakistan’s interim Prime Minister AnwaarulHaq Kaka said that no refugees would be deported, but that people in an illegal situation would be deported. “No country in the world allows illegal residents to stay on its territory,” he told local newspapers.
Many of those now forced to leave Pakistan have lived in the country for decades: they are displaced from the conflict that devastated Afghanistan during the Soviet occupation in the 1970s and 1980s.
During this period of worsening Afghan migration crisis, Brazil, one of the countries that grants humanitarian admission visas, has suspended this policy. The pause began in late September when the Lula government announced it would draft a new admission policy to prevent Brazil from serving only as a transit country for Afghans seeking to reach the United States.
Since then, the Brazilian embassy in Islamabad has stopped accepting visa applications, saying it is awaiting new guidelines. The Ministry of Justice, which is preparing a communication on this topic, says that it is still accepting suggestions from partner organizations to revise the text.