KABUL (Tolo News): The Islamic Emirate established a special commission to address the problems of Afghan refugees based in Pakistan.
The commission, which is led by the deputy prime minister of the Islamic Emirate held its first meeting to discuss creating procedures for its activities.
The commission was established based on the decree of the leader of the Islamic Emirate.
“A committee headed by the Deputy Prime Minister, Abdul Salaam Hanafi, has been commissioned to make a procedure for the commission as soon as possible so that it can facilitate the activities of relevant administrations and create further coordination between the administration,” the statement of the office of Prime Minister said.
“Creation of this commission is a positive step, but diplomatic negotiations are needed for legal and documented travels,” Said Asifa Stanikzai, a refugees’ rights activist.
In the meantime, Afghan refugees based in Pakistan complained about their appalling situation in the host country.
The refugees urged the Islamic Emirate and the refugees’ rights defenders to discuss the issue with the Pakistani government.
“Refugees lives has been disturbed and Afghan refugees are hiding in their houses from the fear of arrest. Currently, the biggest concern of the Afghan refugees is the issuance of a statement by Pakistani government urging Pakistani nationals not to rent their houses to Afghan refugees,” said Baqir Ahmadi, a Pakistan-based Afghan refugee.
The general consul of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi said that 100 Afghan refugees, among them 36 minors, have been released from different prisons of Karachi and taken back to Afghanistan.
“There are over 900 Afghan prisoners in the Sindh state of Pakistan who have been arrested recently. We ask the Pakistani government not to misbehave with those who have legal documents and those without documents should be given time to return to Afghanistan,” said Abdul Jabar Takhari, general consul of the Islamic Emirate in Karachi.
It comes as the interior minister of Pakistan’s caretaker government said that they plan to expel over one million undocumented refugees including Afghans by November this year.
