While international attention is focused on Israel’s merciless bombing of Gaza and its ground attacks, Pakistan’s decision to expel 1.5 million undocumented Afghan refugees in the beginning of winter is escaping sufficient global scrutiny. The Israeli action, since October 7, has resulted in thousands of deaths, including of infants, and widespread destruction of territory. Even hospitals have not been spared. It may therefore be considered inapt to mention the Pakistani decision along with the Israeli action. The intention is not to compare them but to emphasise that the expulsion of Afghan refugees to an uncertain future is unjustified and will result in deprivation, if not starvation, for many of them. Apart from being inhumane, this expulsion is also contrary to the ties of brotherhood that Pakistan claims binds the Afghans with its own people.
Editorial | Scapegoating: On Afghan refugees in Pakistan
Significantly, some of the refugees who have been pushed out have lived all their lives in Pakistan. Many built businesses, obviously with Pakistani official complicity, which they are being compelled to sell at dirt cheap prices. This is because Pakistan is permitting departing refugees to take only ₹50,000 with them. The decision is also particularly harsh for girls who have been studying in Pakistani schools and colleges and will now have to abandon their studies in Afghanistan. More than two-thirds of the Afghanistan population is facing a humanitarian crisis. Hence, for the Taliban authorities, making arrangements for their incoming compatriots from Pakistan is, as Caroline Gluck of the United Nation Refugee Agency reported on November 17, “a daunting task”.
