Pakistani actress Mahira Khan supports Afghan refugees

KABUL (TOLO News): Mahira Khan, a well-known Pakistani actress, who partnered with United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees Pakistan (UNHCR) last year in order to raise awareness about refugees residing in Pakistan, on Friday, June 21, announced her support to Afghans who are living in Pakistan.

Figures by the Pakistani government show that at least 2.7 million Afghan refugees are living in Pakistan and almost 1.4 million of them have been registered.

On World Refugee Day, Khan took to social media to remind everyone that just like us, Afghan refugees are people; the only difference is that they are victims of terrorism and displacement.

“They’ve been denied a home… but we haven’t denied them hope,” read Mahira’s tweet.

“Pakistan has been hosting millions of Afghan refugees over several years and continues to do so, we have given them a home within our motherland,” she added.

She also uploaded a video in which the actress drew attention to the fact that refugees are actually victims of war and terrorism; and that they have suffered hardship, loss and displacement.

Moreover, the video stated that 85 percent of these Afghan refugees were denied shelters in developed countries like North Korea and the United States of America.

In another tweet, Mahira noted, “more than 70 million people were forced to flee in 2018. That’s one person every two seconds who have been denied a home”.

Figures by Afghanistan’s Ministry of Refugees and Repatriation show that almost six million Afghans have left the country over the past 17 years as the conflicts and violence continue in the country.

On June 19, Pakistani media reported that Afghanistan, Pakistan and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have unanimously agreed on a joint 12-point declaration aimed at the “safe and honorable” repatriation of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan for the past four decades.