Status of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan

70 million people have been forcefully displaced world-wide. All over the world, in areas such as Europe and America, countries have set a legal status for its refugees and have enacted legislations that provide them with fundamental rights. As far as Asia is concerned, majority of states have not signed any major international refugee law instrument which promotes refugee recognition and protection. Yet, Asia has had the second highest number of refugees following World War 2. Similarly, Pakistan too is included in the list of states that have not ratified any international treaty on refugee rights. This article recognizes the status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan as a result of mutual agreements and polices between the state and UNHCR as well as Afghanistan and how an absence of legal identity has impacted them.[1]

Pakistan — host to around 1.38 million refugees (mainly Afghans) is not a signatory to Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees 1951 nor the 1967 Protocol which has been ratified by 144 states.  The convention obligates states to extend positive duty towards concerning the protection of refugees.[2] In Pakistan the refugees are treated in accordance with the Provision of Foreigners Act, 1946. In the absence of a national refugee legal framework, UNHCR conducts status determination under its mandate (Statue of the Office of UNHCR adopted by General Assembly Resolution 428 (V) of 14 December 1950) and on behalf of the Pakistani government in accordance with 1993 Cooperation Agreement between the two.

If the books of history are unraveled, the first wave of Afghan refugees to Pakistan began during Soviet-Afghan war in the late 1970’s. With time, the numbers swelled and by the end of 2001, they were around 4 million refugees.[3] According to a census of Afghans in Pakistan, a 2005 Pakistan Ministry of State and Frontier Regions report, the ethnic breakdown of Afghans in Pakistan was Pashtuns (81.5 percent), Tajiks (7.3 percent), Uzbeks (2.3 percent), Hazaras (1.3 percent), Turkmen (2 percent), Balochi (1.7 percent) and others (3.9 percent). Majority of them have repatriated under a UNHCR-assisted voluntary repatriation programme. The ones who chose not to leave had no identification documents until 2005 when the government decided to issue POR (Proof of Registration) cards to the refugees which are valid up-to June 2020. These cards have biometric features similar to the local computerized identity card (CNIC) but with ‘Afghan citizen’ on its front. As of July 2019, 1.41 million refugees own this card. Moreover, only newborn children to these card holders are liable to be granted Pakistani citizenship.

Demographically, the greatest number of refugees are settled in KP (80 percent) followed by Balochistan (11 percent) and the remaining 9 percent from the rest of the country. Due to a common ethnic and linguistic link between the two countries, these people find it relatively easy to assimilate in the society and adopt local customs. Urdu and Pashto are widely spoken amongst them.[4] According to UNHCR, the male refugees are slightly larger in number than the female but majority of them fall within the 18-59 age brackets. As per the same source, 68 percent of these refugees reside in suburbs or outskirts outside urban towns while the rest are part of the rural community. These people have faced a lot of resentment in the past two decades and have suffered enormously in terms of living standards.

Concerning education, 71% of the population is deprived of formal education. The figures are even less when it comes to female enrolled in schools. As a result, majority of them tend to work as laborers in the construction and transport sectors while others work as employees in various factories and restaurants. It is also important to highlight the fact that many of them work under the average wages for Pakistani’s. This shows their dire need to work in order to provide basic necessities to their families. The more affluent ones are less in number and run their small businesses. These refugees also have very little access to health facilities. The prevalence of diseases such as polio, tuberculosis and malaria are evidence of it. With polio eliminated from countries all over the world, a total of 42 cases were reported in Afghanistan and Pakistan this year. This was mainly due to regular cross border movement between the two countries which maintains the flow of polio-virus in both directions of the border.

Due to political unrest, economic crisis and deteriorating relations between Pakistan and Afghanistan, these refugees are an extra burden socially and economically.[5] Almost $400 million dollars have been spent on them as of July 2019. Many countries worldwide and renowned international organizations such as World Bank and UNICEF have raised concerns regarding these refugees and their treatment. Some of them also lend financial support however, it is alleged that these funds never reached the refugees.

One of the major issues faced by them is discrimination as they are often targeted by Pakistani authorities and counter enormous hardships as a result of sectarianism and terrorist attacks. A notable example is the horrific massacre at the Army Public School in Peshawar after which a crackdown was launched against these Afghans. They were harassed, punished and labeled as ‘terrorists’, ‘criminals’ and ‘anti-state’. Tens of thousands of Afghans were forcefully deported following the attack. Some of them though had been involved in sectarianism violence, human and drug trafficking and organized crime. Smuggling good to and from is a common business along the Durand Line and there is a net flow of major items such as heroin, opium, lumber etc. from Afghanistan into Pakistan. [6]

In June 2019 Pakistan, Afghanistan and UNHCR agreed on a joint declaration on conclusion of the Tripartite Commission to discuss safe and honorable repatriation of refugees on the basis of the 2017 Policy[7] of the Federal Cabinet aimed at resolving issue of voluntary repatriation and management of Afghan nationals. The policy further acknowledged different status, vulnerabilities of Afghans in Pakistan and proposed solutions of administrative approaches. This included an approval of policy pertaining to the repatriation of Afghan refugees and consequently barred entry into the country for those refugees who do not have valid visas followed by a continued protection for those who want to extend their POR cards and a flexible visa regime for these card holders. An improved border management and registration of undocumented Afghans was also a part of the policy. With the new coalition government after the recent elections in 2018, these policies remained in effect with the support of UNHCR. The government concluded the registration and around 880,000 Afghans were registered of which 45 percent received their cards by the end of the year. In addition, these refugees were given access to bank accounts and allowed to participate in the formal economy for the first time. However, these are just baby steps and therefore more measures are needed to be taken by the government to suffice the loss they have caused. 

UNHCR’s policies in the education, health and livelihood sectors have played significant role in uplifting status of these Afghan refugees. UNHCR reportedly provides primary education (grades one to six) in 105 schools with 638 teachers and a student body of 33,739 in KP, home to the greatest number of refugees. [8] Around 18,574 and 1393 children have access to free education in Balochistan and Punjab respectively. The UNHCR continues to provide free of cost quality education in the remote villages of refugees where no public schools are within accessible distance. Regarding health, maternal and child health related services are set up in areas in the three provinces. Women and children enrolled in the preventive and reproductive units have received antenatal, prenatal and post-natal care. Furthermore, UNHCR’s campaign of eradicating polio is being implemented by WHO, UNICEF and Government of Pakistan’s health department.

Poverty plays a pivotal role in the daily lives of these refugees to which Pakistan Poverty Alleviation fund came into being and continues to the assist refugees as of today. Apart from that, UNHCR also provides pro bono services in the four provinces through nine Advice and Legal Aid centers (ALACs). As of July 2019, some 3600 people have been given legal assistance either in a meeting or through their helpline. A total of 84 legal sessions and Shura meetings were also organized.

On the basis of above, one must believe it is imperative for the government of Pakistan to enact a legislation regarding the refugee rights or endorse the international convention that will give them fundamental legal rights — something unknown to them for the past four decades. This would allow them to live and work without a constant fear of being deported. UNHCR’s policies have been substantially successful but there should be more steps taken by the government to ensure their inclusion in social and political aspects.  A time when Pakistan is looking to improve its bilateral ties with Afghanistan, this would serve as a great opportunity. In doing so, Pakistan can wrap up the deadly history of the past decades by setting high international standards for the rest of the world

[1] Asylum System in Pakistan  [website] 2018, https://unhcrpk.org/asylum-system-in-pakistan/, (accessed 18 November 2019)

[2] International Refugee Law: Case Study of Pakistan (20 July 2016) international-refugee-law-a-case-study-of-Pakistan

[3] Census of Afghans in Pakistan (2005)  https://www.unhcr.org/431c7b1a2.pdf (accessed 20 November 2019)

[4] Operational Portal Refugees Solution https://data2.unhcr.org/en/country/pak

[5] Pakistan Funding (July 2019)  https://data2.unhcr.org/en/country/pak

[6] Conclusions on the 30^th Tripartite Commission Meeting between Government of Islamic Republics of Pakistan and Afghanistan and UNHCR (1^st July 2019) https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/conclusions-30th-tripartite-commissions-meeting-between-government-islamic-republics 

[7] Policy of Federal Cabinet regarding Afghan Refugees (February 2017) https://tribune.com.pk/story/1320107/stay-afghan-refugees-extended-till-year-end/(accessed 24 November 2019)

[8] Education of Afghan Refugees (2019) http://reporting.unhcr.org/node/22953