Afghan Refugees living in Pakistan

Is Afghani not getting his right?
What they expect more from us?
Have Afghani forgot our hospitality?
What were you deprived of?

Afghanis are living in Pakistan for the past 35 years and are treated as brothers in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. They were born here, educated here, earned their living from this soil and were treated as equals as citizens by the entire nation. Afghanis were here under UNHCR agreement according to which Pakistan was being paid a sum of 300 million dollars. Which other country on earth would take in such an enormous number of immigrants and refugees and welcome them into every corner of the country with such a meagre sum of money? Without having passports, identity cards or visas, the Afghanis were allowed to live here, did business worth millions of rupees and settled here like first class citizens. Even Pakistani government has allocated a special quota for them in every College and University. Without giving any tax on business Afghanis earned millions of rupees in Peshawar. They can try going to any foreign country and live a week there, they will realize how free they are in Pakistan.

One of my Afghani friend in Islamia College Peshawar is now at UET Lahore studying Civil Engineering. It was appalling to see his statuses on Facebook against Pakistan! It’s not about criticizing, it’s about them having lost humanity and respect for the soil that took them in and protected them and nurtured them.

Instead of praising, they are burning our flags and attacking our men at the border. They are involved in many attacks in Pakistan and busy in destruction our land. The growing influence of the Taliban in Afghanistan is a serious concern for the region, especially for Pakistan confronting its own grave militancy problem. Some groups of Afghanis are involved in money extortion cases in Peshawar and has made the city agitated. Recently Afghan Taliban group “Jamat-ul-Ahrar” claimed responsibility for Lahore attack, Peshawar attack and Mohmand Agency attack.

We need peace on both sides of border, without peace in Afghanistan it is not possible for us to sleep well without any anxiety and vice versa. We need to close Pak-Afghan border and do not enter Afghanis without visa and passport, similarly all the Afghanis living here in Pakistan should be given a frame time to submit proper documents and apply for visa in Pakistan otherwise to be shifted to Afghanistan. We are brothers but we have borders and different states, it’s our duty to respect the laws of state.
Let’s hope for peaceful Pakistan and Afghanistan.
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.”