Countries should not forcibly deport immigrants: Experts

Afghan Legal experts say according to international immigration laws, countries should not forcibly deport immigrants, emphasizing that if host countries deport refugees, they must act in light of international migration laws and in coordination with international organizations.

“They (Pakistan) should be put on the black list and continue to be recognized as human rights violators and be brought to an international court, for the actions that they have taken against the immigrants,” said Abdul Salam Zaeef, the former ambassador of Afghanistan in Pakistan.

“There migrants are those who were born there, and they do not have the authority to usurp their properties and houses, or to destroy their houses, or to insult them and forcefully expel them,” he added.

In addition to many challenges, there is no promising prospect to ease the overwhelming hardships faced by Afghan refugees in Pakistan, as the country has effectively started the process of deporting Afghan refugees.

“No country can forcibly expel immigrants from the country,” said Gul Rahman Qazi, a legal expert.

A number of other analysts say that along with increasing militancy, the economic crisis and the abnormal political situation in Pakistan, the strained relationship between Kabul and Islamabad is another factor behind the mass deportation of immigrants.

However, the Islamic Emirate considers Pakistan’s action a result of the inefficiency of the interim government of this country in changing the minds of Pakistani citizens.

“They (Pakistan) want to divert their people’s thoughts from their internal problems and create a new issue so that both the media and the minds of people get busy with it,” said Zabihullah Mujahid, the spokesman of the Islamic Emirate.

Pakistan has no domestic legal framework for migrants and has not signed the United Nations Refugee Convention, thus making Afghan migrants and refugees, both legal and illegal vulnerable to policy changes.