Turkey has pledged to work with Pakistan to stabilize Afghanistan and stem the flow of new refugees. During President Arif Alvi’s visit to Turkey, his Turkish counterpart said that Turkey was facing a new wave of Afghan refugees via Iran. “We will continue to make every effort to restore stability in the region, beginning with Afghanistan,” he said. The Turkish leader said that for this initiative we will further strengthen our cooperation with Pakistan.
Pakistan has been carrying the burden of Afghan refugees for more than 40 years and now the government of our country has repeatedly called for the return of Afghan refugees but the situation is as it is. According to government statistics, there are about 3 million refugees in Pakistan at present, while according to independent sources, the number of refugees in the country is many times more than that.
After the arrival of Soviet troops in Pakistan in 1979, millions of Afghans turned to Pakistan in a state of disarray, and the country, despite its own lack of resources, generously sheltered Afghanis and provide them relief. In the past, it has been observed that terrorists also entered Pakistan under the guise of refugees, which led to an increase in problems other than illegal weapon dealings in the country.
After the withdrawal of US troops from Afghanistan, there was uncertainty in Afghan and since last month people from Afghanistan have turned to safe abroad but now that the national government in Afghanistan has been overthrown and the Taliban have taken power, thousands of civilians are fleeing the country. Unlike in the past, this time the migrants fleeing the civil war are not turning to Pakistan but preferring to go to Turkey via Iran.
Refugees arriving in Pakistan are refusing to return to Afghanistan despite the expiration of their stay, which has led the government to repeatedly extend the stay of refugees under restraint and pressure from the United Nations Human Rights Council. Once again, there is an atmosphere of instability in Afghanistan, so the frightened citizens have started evacuating and there are fears that Pakistan may be invaded by Afghan refugees.
In view of this trend of refugees, while European countries are expressing fears that they will have to bear the burden of Afghan refugees in the coming days, the United States has called on Pakistan to allow Afghan refugees to come to Pakistan and let the country open its borders with Afghanistan. From Afghanistan to Iran via Turkey 2,000 Afghans are arriving in Turkey every day, and given the trend of migration, there are fears that this number will increase hundreds of times after the Taliban comes to power.
Pakistan is an economically unstable country and the influx of refugees could put a severe strain on Pakistan’s resources. Instead of forcing Pakistan to bear the burden of Afghan refugees, the US, Turkey, Europe, and other countries should open their borders and provide shelter and resources to the refugees and the government of Pakistan should try to prevent any kind of refugee invasion so that no major tragedy could strike in Pakistan.
