Why Can’t We Get Our Basic Human Rights of Seeking Asylum

as a Refugee – The Voice of All Afghans

Why Am I thrown out of this country?

Is it my fault that my documents have not been processed yet?

These are some basic questions that are hovering in the minds of all Afghan refugees who have
been forced to leave Pakistan in the light of an order issued by the GOP on October 3 rd, 2023.
This order has been passed to evacuate all illegal immigrants from the country including 1.73
million Afghans. The immigrants were given a deadline of Nov 1st, 2023 and after that, they will
have to face forced expulsion. This order was issued in pursuance of the two terrorist attacks in
the mosques and alleged Afghan involvement in these attacks.

However, the point of pondering here is that the order proclaims to expatriate only those
immigrants who do not have any legal documents, however, individuals with GoP-approved
Afghan Citizenship Cards (ACC) are also facing humiliation and expatriation. Why? Similarly,
many individuals claim that they have submitted their asylum application but have not received
any update yet. Here again, who is the culprit GOP or Afghan refugees?

The purpose of this article is to highlight the sufferings of Afghan refugees who escaped to
foreign lands to seek safety and sanctuary. However, their journey entails brutal, inhuman, and
unjust treatment. Amid the tear-jerking chronicles of Afghan refugees, it becomes imperative to
reveal the culprits behind this stressful ordeal. In this article, we will not only look into the
factors that exacerbate the sufferings of these refugees but also indicate the ways that can bring
the necessary change in the lives of refugees.

Who Is the Culprit Behind This Mass Expulsion?

Pakistan acts as a home to more than 3.4 million Afghan refugees. The country has been
accepting Afghan refugees in different waves since the beginning of the Soviet-Afghan war in
1979. A recent wave of more than 600,000 to 800,000 Afghans migrated to Pakistan when the
Taliban came to power in Afghanistan in 2021. According to GOP estimates, more than 1.7
million Afghans do not have any legal documents and are staying illegally. Hundreds of Afghans
have already been displaced from the country whereas others are forced to follow a similar trail.
Isn’t it inhumane to deport individuals who have been living with their families for years in
Pakistan and consider it their homeland with no one to welcome them in Afghanistan? If not,
then who is the culprit behind this massacre? Let’s have a look

1. Afghan’s Entrance Remains Unnoticed

It is revealed by some of the officials that the Government has always been very slow in noting
and taking relevant action on Afghan refugee's arrival and entrance in Pakistan. Though the
border of Pakistan with Afghanistan is fenced, however, Afghans often find ways to enter
Pakistan either without any documents or by acquiring visas through the black market.
However, Pakistan has always been turning a blind eye towards Afghans entering with or
without visas for years. The authorities have been showing reluctant behavior in recording even
the basic information of these refugees and placing this fragile population in an insecure and
vulnerable situation. Isn’t it inhumane to first show unwillingness to record and register the new
arrivals and then blame them for not getting registration?

The sluggishness of the government is evident from the fact that according to The United
Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR), GoP has not made any significant progress in defining
mechanisms and measures to support Afghan refugees since 2021 only the discussion is going
on where to set up the reception centers.

2. Policy Inadequacies & Administrative Lapses:

Pakistan has neither passed any national refugee legislation nor become a signatory to the 1967
protocol relevant to the Status of Refugees. The only law that is currently applicable in Pakistan
is the Foreigners Act of 1946 and the Foreigners Order of 1951 and according to them, all
foreigners without any legal documents can be subjected to deportation, detention, or arrest.

The only legal way through which Afghans are given the legitimate right to stay in Pakistan and
avail of necessities including healthcare, education, property rental, banking, and other facilities
is the issuance of PoR(Proof of Registration) cards by a mutual collaboration of UNHCR and
Ministry of States and Foreign Affairs. However, the information has not been updated since
2006 and 2007. Though an exercise was conducted by the Chief Commissionerate of Afghan
Refugees and NADRA with the collaboration of UNHCR in 2021(finished in 2023), however, no
new cards were issued except to the children born to families already having PoR cards.

As a result, Pakistan only recognizes 1.32 million people as registered Afghans and declares
others as illegal. Isn’t this a clear indication of the country’s policy inadequacies and
administrative lapses due to which neither the information has been updated nor new cards
have been issued?

3. Fails to Recognize Afghans as Refugees:

Moreover, in 2017, the GOP came up with an inclusive policy for repatriating and managing
Afghan nationals after collaborating with the former Afghan government and the International
Organization for Migration (IOM). Under this, policy, more than 830,000 undocumented Afghans
were given ACC which confirmed their Afghan citizenship and permitted them to stay in Pakistan
temporarily, however, did not recognize them as refugees. In other words, Afghans having ACC
are lying in a situation similar to the “Sword of Damocles hanging over one’s head” as many
Afghans are complaining out of severe plight that GoP is even not considering ACC and treating
such individuals with similar brutality. For instance, Rasul while sharing his grievances with AL-
Jazeera has highlighted that despite having ACC, he and his family were humiliated and forced
to leave Pakistan. Isn’t it a GoP’s retaliation from its orders?

4. Governance Issues

The process of granting PoR and ACC is rather very slow and accompanied by governance issues.
A large number of Afghans have reported that they have applied to get PoR, however, the
process is taking too much time and, in some cases, quite expensive for the applicant. In other
words, UNHCR being built to protect Afghans and fight for their rights has not taken any
essential steps to expedite the process and facilitate them. Isn’t a hypocrisy?
 5. Negative Role of US-Pakistan Foreign Policy

Pakistan’s US Foreign Policy seriously affects the resettlement of Afghans as the US despite its
agreements to settle the refugees under P1 and P2 cases has not proceeded with them alleging
that Pakistan is not allowing the establishment of Resettlement Support Centers (RSC).

Though bilateral consultations are going on between the US and Pakistan, no fruitful results
have been obtained yet as the US despite settling this matter through other ways is only
insisting on establishing RSC which Pakistan is denying consistently presuming that it will
promote more Afghans to pervade. Thus, the US-Pakistan foreign policy and deadlock on the
RSC establishment are further exacerbating the entire situation. Does the US want to settle this
matter or not?

What Can Be Done to Avoid the Situation?

To address this precarious situation, Pakistan has to first recognize and give Afghans the status
of refugees and preview these refugees with a humanitarian lens as seeking asylum is their
basic human right.

We as a humanitarian nation should grant them this basic right by considering these
suggestions:

 GoP should become a signatory to the Refugees Convention and establish national
asylum and refugee law to receive, settle, and manage refugees
 Expedite the process of registering Afghans and allocating them PoR. This will not only
enable them to get access to all necessities but also help them to resettle in Pakistan and
other countries
 Allow the US to establish RSC in Pakistan, process P1 and P2 cases, and provide exit
permits to all Afghans leaving Pakistan to resettle in the US or other countries

On the other hand, the US should consider other models for establishing RSC in Pakistan and
proceed with the resettlement process at the earliest. Additionally, the US should adopt the CAS
model to increase the efficiency of RSC, communicate more clearly on the Afghan resettlement
program, and provide clear information on the Afghan (USRAP) The U.S. Refugee Admissions
Program.