No forced expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pak's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, says CM Gandapur

Peshawar, Apr 4 (PTI) Pakistan's Khyber Pakhtunkhwa provincial Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur on Friday asserted that he will not allow any Afghan citizen to be forcibly expelled from his province.

Addressing a press conference in Islamabad, he emphasised that Pakistan's policy towards Afghan repatriation is rooted in dignity and respect.

"It is not acceptable to simply pick someone up and throw them at the border," Gandapur stated, reiterating that those returning voluntarily will be provided with necessary resources and support.

"Our policy on the return of Afghan citizens is clear. They will be sent back with dignity. I have repeatedly said that negotiations should be held with Afghanistan. To win the war, we must win the hearts of the people," he said.

To facilitate the voluntary repatriation process, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has set up camps for refugees who wish to return. “Those willing to return voluntarily will be assisted in every possible way,” Gandapur assured.

The issue of Afghan refugees in Pakistan has been a longstanding one. In recent months, Pakistan has intensified its efforts to repatriate Afghan refugees, citing security concerns and economic pressures.

Pakistan has suffered from a series of deadly attacks by armed groups that Islamabad alleges operate from Afghanistan. This has also led to a spike in tensions between Pakistan and Afghanistan’s Taliban rulers.

The Pakistan government has announced a phased deportation plan, under which thousands of undocumented Afghans have already been repatriated.

Pakistan plans to expel 3 million Afghans from the country this year.

According to figures from the International Organisation for Migration, approximately 845,000 Afghans have left Pakistan over the past 18 months.

The Pakistani government estimates that around three million Afghans still reside in the country. Of these, 1,344,584 hold Proof of Registration (PoR) cards, while 807,402 possess Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC). An additional one million Afghans are believed to be undocumented and living in the country without legal documentation.

Pakistani authorities have stated that measures will be taken to ensure that deported Afghans do not return illegally.

During the press conference, Gandapur linked rising terrorism in Pakistan to policy failures at the federal level.

"Terrorism in the country is a failure of the federal government. Our relations with Afghanistan are deteriorating,” he said, claiming that terrorism had ended during the rule of the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) government led by Imran Khan.

The chief minister said that federal institutions have proposed Terms of Reference (TORs) for dialogue with Afghanistan to address security and repatriation matters. However, he lamented the lack of response from the Afghan side. “It has been two to three months since the TORs were made, but we have not received any response for dialogue with Afghanistan,” Gandapur said.

He said that his administration has begun implementing a provincial action plan to address security and refugee concerns. Intelligence-based operations are ongoing to curb terrorist activities, the chief minister said. PTI AYZ SCY SCY

Source: PTI