Afghan refugees being unjustly harassed: ex-ambassador

Rustam Shah Mohmand says he has no mandate as committee coordinator

PESHAWAR: Pakistan’s former ambassador to Afghanistan and erstwhile commissioner for Afghan refugees Rustam Shah Mohmand has said the Afghan refugees are being harassed and forced to leave the country even after formation of the so-called committee by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government.

Speaking to this scribe at his residence, he said the committee, of which he was appointed as coordinator, has no mandate or members.He added that Chief Minister Pervez Khattak had announced the formation of the committee during a meeting with Afghan refugees’ representatives but did not appoint other members or gave it any task or responsibility.

“It was just a media statement and I must say that neither the PTI leadership nor its government in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has tried to understand the seriousness of the Afghan refugees issue in the province,” said Rustam Shah Mohmand, who is a senior leader of the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI).

Similarly, he added, other political parties had not taken principled stance on alleged forcible repatriation of Afghan refugees, adding that humiliation of Afghans at the hands of different government institutions would create hatred and mistrust towards Pakistan.

Rustam Shah Mohmand, who twice served as commissioner Afghan refugees, said the Afghan refugees had never been a burden on the economy of Pakistan and from the very beginning the UNHCR, World Food Programme and other donor agencies and developed countries had provided billions of dollars aid for Afghan refugees.

“More than 10,000 Pakistanis were recruited for years in Afghan refugees’ camps and registration centres while Pakistani trucks, warehouses, lands and buildings were hired and rented for providing services to Afghan refugees,” he pointed out.

He argued that Pakistan government and its people had obtained financial benefits for hosting millions of Afghan refugees. Besides, he said hundreds of Afghans are working in foreign countries who send remittances to their families settled in Pakistan.

Rustam Shah Mohmand, who also served as consultant of Pak-Afghan Peace Jirga and the UNHCR, also rejected the impression that Afghan refugees were involved in terrorism and crimes in Pakistan.

“They (Afghans) have never been involved in any organised crimes or anti-state activities during their stay in Pakistan,” he maintained. He added that Pakistan government must take strict action against those individuals who broke the law of the land.

About Pak-Afghan relations, the former ambassador to Afghanistan said Pakistan should not react to Indo-Afghan bilateral relations but should improve its ties with Afghanistan by showing flexibility in matters of trade and visa issues. “We have hosted millions of Afghan refugees for more than three decades and we should send them back with respect and dignity,” he stressed. He felt they should be given more time to prepare for voluntary repatriation. “Pakistan should also play its positive role in the Afghan peace process as a peaceful Afghanistan is in the interest of Pakistan and the whole region.