MAKTAB COMPETITIVE EXAMS SERVICES

Current Affairs Workshop for CSS 2024

Instructor: Arslan Zahid Khan (CSP 51st CTP)

Expulsion of Afghan Refugees from Pakistan:

Implications and Policy Options for the Country
A brief history of Afghanistan’s crisis: (1979-2023)
1. Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan
2. Difference between Taliban and Mujahideen
3. Good and Bad Taliban
4. Pashtunistan Movement
5. War on terror and its different aspects

Factors of disturbance in Afghanistan:

1. Complex geography of the country: remained a buffer zone between the great
powers for the two centuries
2. Existence of tribal nationalism instead of territorial nationalism in the population
3. Intensive rivalry between the three stakeholders with in Afghanistan
4. Conflicting interests of external powers in Afghanistan

Challenges to Taliban regime:

1. International Sanctions and freezing of assets
2. Significant international pressure on human rights abuses and infringement of
women rights
3. Population dynamics of Afghanistan
4. Internal pressure on adopting the constitution of 2004 instead of 1964’s
5. Armed rebellion: (ISK, NRF, High Council of National Resistance (HCNR),
Afghanistan Islamic National and Liberation Movement, Liberation Front of
Afghanistan, Western Nuristan Front, South Turkestan Front)
6. Foreign agent registration act (FARA)

Facts on Refugee Dilemma in Pakistan:

a) 4.4 million Afghans live in Pakistan. 1.7 million are illegal immigrants (Interior
Ministry).
b) 95% of all the refugees in Pakistan are Afghans.
c) The first influx of Afghan refugees began right after soviet invasion of Afghanistan.
d) The wave was followed by a second in 1992 when Gulbadin Hekmatyar and
Northern alliance started fighting and third wave in 2001 when US invaded
Afghanistan in 2001.
e) Since the fall of Kabul, 600000 afghan immigrants fled to Pakistan according to
Refugee International.
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 f) 50% Afghan immigrants reside in KPK and 24% in Balochistan

Driving Factors behind Pakistan’s Decision of Expulsion of Afghan

Refugees
1. Upsurge in Terrorism: Chilas Bus Attack, Zhob attack, Chitral attack, Mianwali air
base attack
2. Smuggling of Dollars
3. Growing Criminal Activities including human trafficking, drug trafficking, kidnapping
for ransom

Is it justified to expel Afghan Refugees?

1. Pakistan is not signatory to the 1951 convention relating to the status of Refugees
– the convention that stops states from punishing people who enter a country
illegally.
2. There are many international human rights conventions that Pakistan is signatory
to e.g. the International covenant on civil and political rights, the International
covenant on economic, social and cultural rights, the convention on the
discrimination of all types against women, the convention on rights of child, the
convention against torture and other cruel
3. Criticism by UNHCR, Amnesty International
4. Pakistan and Afghanistan share more than 1000 years of socio cultural and
religious relations. Allama Iqbal called Afghanistan a heart of Asia. Various anti-
imperialist leaders, Haji Saheb tarangzai, Moulana Ubaidullah Sindhi got refuge in
Afghanistan. Hazrat Moin Uddin Chishto, and Hazrat Data Ganj Bakshs came from
Ghazni, even his Father Usman Hajveri is buried in Ghazni. Mehmood Ghaznavi,
Ahmad shah abdali, Shahabuddin Ghouri have great respect in Pakistan even are
missiles are named after them.

Implications of Refugee expulsion and Strained relations with

Afghanistan:
1. BLA TTP Alliance and upsurge in terrorism
2. Worsening The Haqqani Dilemma (Recruitment from inside Pakistan) (Antonio
Giustozzi’s Book: The Taliban at War notes that a unique aspect of Haqqani
Network is its direct recruitment of Pakistan’s fighters) (Mullah Abdul Hakim
Haqqani’s book Al Emarat al Islamiyya wa Nizamha (The Islamic Emirate and its
Systems) Michael Semple’s 2014 research paper, Rhetoric, Ideology and
Organisational Structure of the Taliban Movement. Semple deconstructed the
Taliban’s ideological framework by examining their training manuals, which were
heavily influenced by Pakistani religious scholars, primarily Mufti Rasheed Ahmed.
A Karachi-based jihadist ideologue and Taliban mentor during the 1990s, Mufti
Rasheed, through his teachings, inspired generations of jihadists in Pakistan. For
these militants, the head of the Pakistani state was not qualified to be declared
‘ameer’, a notion that various religious parties had promoted.
3. Exacerbation of Pak Afghan Water conflicts (Qosh Tepa Canal diversion from Amu
Darya, Diversion of Kabul river by local Taliban leader)

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 4. A blow to bilateral and trilateral infrastructure corridors (Trans Afghan Railway
project, Khyberpass Economic Corridor, Tri-Nation Railway Project of 5 bn$ cost,
CASA 1000 and TAPI)
5. Indo Taliban Nexus, a serious blow to Pakistan’s strategic depth narrative

Policy Options for Pakistan:

1. Repatriation of Afghan refugees with the collaboration of Afghan Government and
International agencies. Offer of Dual Nationality to afghan nationals to ease their
cross border mobility
2. There should be an open discussion and ensure transparency in the country’s
Afghan policy within and outside parliament, including on terrorism in Pakistan
3. Instead of looking at them as old allies, Pakistan needs to engage with the Taliban
in a bilateral state to state framework to seek security cooperation. Talks between
the two states should be held on Track I Basis.
4. National consensus on Zero Terrorism Policy (Same as we did in Paigham e
Pakistan Initiative 2018)
5. Well-honed top bottom collaboration between counter terrorism departments and
regular audits of their performance is essential
6. Need of avoiding political bickering and blame game on each other by political
parties on the matter of national security policies
7. Need of spreading a counter narrative of such retrogressive ideologies at societal
level
8. De-radicalization centers to de-radicalize the mindset of youth (Saboon, Rastoon,
Helia)

Maktab Competitive Exams Services – 2C Mason Road Near British Council Lahore - 03224059540