Repatriation

This letter refers to the news report ‘Sustainable long term Afghan refugee policy required’ (December 20, 2023). The report mentions that the Institute of Regional Studies, Islamabad, had recently organized a roundtable discussion on “Afghan refugees & illegal immigrants: Problems and the way forward”. The participants opined that “Pakistan is well within its rights to set policies on illegal immigration and should help facilitate the repatriation of Afghan refugees with honour.

In my opinion, Pakistan should repatriate all Afghan refugees to their homeland as soon as possible, in a dignified manner and without the use of force. The state should also provide some monetary assistance to the Afghan families being repatriated. The levels of conflict and violence in Afghanistan have gone down significantly since the departure of the US. Hence, I feel that the case for repatriation of refugees is quite strong. Conversely, I recommend that an appropriate number of Palestinian refugees may be taken in. We should provide them with accommodation, food, medical, and educational services in their hour of grief and distress, as we did for the Afghans back in 1979.

Abbas R Siddiqi

Lahore