Official claims Eid vacations cause delays in the Afghan repatriation process. According to UNHCR spokesman, some ACC holders might need “protection,” thus Islamabad should see their situations sympathetically.
Following the official deadline for Afghan Citizen Card (ACC) holders to leave the nation voluntarily expired, the second phase of returning Afghan refugees is slated to start in earnest today, Thursday.
Though requests from the international community to extend the deadline, the administration had set March 31 as the last date for ACC holders to return to their nation and refused to waver.
“Although the deadline was March 31, the provincial administration exteemed it to April 2 considering Eidul Fitr. Phase 2 will start from [Thursday] and we have set camps, one each at Landi Kotal and Nasir Bagh Road, according a senior official from Afghan Commissionate in Peshawar.
Official circles were confused about the two-day Eid relaxation since some sources said the repatriation date had been extended.
While the Associated Press indicated that arrests and deportations had been stopped until April 10, the AFP news agency reported that Eid holidays had extended the deadline to the start of next week.
Law enforcement sources in the twin towns also alleged that nothing was formally communicated and that the date for Afghans’ repatriation had been surreptitiously pushed to April 10.
An official from an interior ministry contradicted this, saying there had been no extension.
UNHCR Issues
Official records show that 69,494 families—including 473,397 people—have been returned to Afghanistan since September 2023; 157,513 of them are males, 111,451 are women, and 197,821 are children.
UNHCR spokesman Qaiser Khan Afridi told Dawn the UN agency was worried about the government’s direction as among the Afghan Citizen Cardholders there may be people needing international protection.
“In that regard, we are advocating the government [see] their circumstances via a humanitarian prism. Mr. Afridi told Dawn adding that Pakistan and Afghanistan should engage so that the returns may be voluntary and dignified.
Afghan Mini-ster for Refugees and Reparations Mawlavi Abdul Kabir demanded the compassionate treatment of refugees, particularly in view of claims of maltreatment of Afghans by border countries, including cases involving deportations of people bearing legitimate visas.
In a statement, the interim Afghan government also underlined its demand for the voluntary return of Afghan immigrants and pushed Pakistan and Iran to end forceful deportations.
Additionally helping with this report were Mohammad Asghar in Rawalpindi and Iftikhar A. Khan in Islamabad.
