THE authorities are once again mobilising to ‘repatriate’ Afghan refugees, around half a million of whom have already been ‘sent home’ since November last year, when the drive against illegal and undocumented aliens first kicked off. Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi told representatives from the UN on Wednesday that the second phase of the repatriation drive would commence soon, asking that the UN and the international community play their role in rehabilitating those displaced. The minister complained to the delegation that the incumbent Afghan regime has failed to prevent the TTP from using its soil to launch attacks on Pakistan, which suggests that the motivation for this repatriation drive is more to respond to Kabul’s policies than anything else. It is worth noting that as Pakistan struggles to come to terms with a resurgence of serious security-related challenges, there has been a noticeable increase in xenophobia, including at the highest levels of the state. Not just Afghans, but indigenous ethnic communities traditionally ‘othered’ by the state are also being targeted, with various narratives pushed through traditional and social media questioning their loyalties and seeking to justify the use of force against them.

It is most unfortunate that our policymakers, instead of resisting or countering such divisive and dangerous trends, seem to be endorsing them, at least where the question of Afghan refugees is concerned. There is no question that Pakistan has become progressively resource-constrained and violence-fatigued, and it is unfair to expect it to continue shouldering the burden of close to two million Afghan refugees alone. The world, especially the countries that were involved in the Afghan war, has a bigger obligation to ensure the welfare of the millions that were displaced. These nations must also expedite the relocation of those Afghans they have agreed to give refuge to so that the latter can start to rebuild their lives as soon as possible. At the same time, however, Pakistan must be a little more generous and patient. The Kabul regime is, of course, proving to be a major problem — but we must not lose sight of our humanity because of it. Many of the refugees the authorities want to deport know nothing about their country. Indeed, many have considered Pakistan home for many years now. It would be unconscionable from a cultural perspective to uproot them in haste.

Published in Dawn, August 30th, 2024