IEA says Pakistan has still not agreed to meeting over refugees

With eight days left until Pakistan’s deadline for all undocumented Afghan refugees to leave the country, the Islamic Emirate says Islamabad has not yet agreed to meet with IEA officials in the presence of the United Nations.

The Ministry of Immigrants and Returnees Affairs of the Islamic Emirate published a newsletter on Sunday and said that Abdul Rahman Rashid, Deputy Professional of the Ministry, met with Leonard Zulu, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Afghanistan, about the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

“Because the Pakistani side did not agree to the tripartite meeting – Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees – in that country, the ministry decided to hold the aforementioned meeting in Kabul and the issue will be discussed through the ministry. The foreign affairs ministry of the Islamic Emirate, the partner and United Nations commissioner, should also be included,” said the ministry.

Quoting Zulu, the IEA said in its newsletter that Pakistan needs to announce its decision on whether it will hold this meeting or not.

At the beginning of this month, Islamabad gave a deadline to all undocumented immigrants to leave Pakistan by November 1 or face arrest and deportation. This affects over 1.3 million Afghans.

Calls have been made by organizations in Pakistan, by the UN and other countries for Pakistan to overturn its decision.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, the US State Department asked all of Afghanistan’s neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow Afghans seeking safety to enter their territories.

Matthew Miller, the spokesman of the US State Department, said in a news conference: “I want to say that we ask all countries, including Pakistan, to comply with their obligations in dealing with migrants and asylum seekers and to respect the principles of prohibition of forced return.”

Officials of the Islamic Emirate have also asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision to deport Afghan refugees.

The government of Pakistan has also in recent days accelerated the detention of Afghan refugees in several major cities, including Islamabad.

According to Pakistani media, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police destroyed dozens of shops in a former market run by Afghan immigrants in Peshawar Bord area on Sunday – without any warning. Before this, Islamabad police destroyed a number of houses of Afghan immigrants in Morgul area.

As the deadline for the deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan approaches, the Islamic Emirate has established a camp for the short-term stay of deported refugees near Torkham port in Nangarhar province. This camp can hold 500 people.

The local authorities of the Islamic Emirate say that food, transportation and health services will be provided during the temporary stay of the returning migrants in the camp.

According to officials, as of Friday (October 20), approximately 52,000 Afghans, including women and children, have returned to their homeland.