Civil society seeks UNHCR’s intervention to check deportation of Afghans

PESHAWAR: A coalition of civil society organisations has urged the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) to “persuade Pakistani government not to detain and forcibly deport” Afghan asylum-seekers, who hold valid documents and whose applications for refuge are pending with it.

These Afghans include women, children, the sick and the elderly, according to Ending Violence against Women and Girls Alliance (EVAWG).

In an open letter to the UNHCR and National Commission for Human Rights, the EVAWG said the current caretaker government, departing from the country’s four decades-long policy of providing refuge to Afghan nationals regardless of their valid documents, recently startled everyone by ordering deportation of all those foreigners without valid visas and documents.

EVAWG says there are widespread reports of harassment, extortion

“This decision, ascribed to the ‘so-called’ Apex Committee, a body devoid of legal and constitutional standing, contravenes a cabinet decision made in Feb 2017 during the elected government of the PML-N,” it said.

The alliance said the women enrolled in higher education, musicians, Afghan human rights defenders, students and media persons were vulnerable.

“This decision of the Apex Committee not only contravened the verdict of the Superior Court but also violates the tripartite agreement between Pakistan, UNHCR and Afghanistan. It also violates international treaties ratified by Pakistan, recommendations put forward late last year by the Human Rights Committee of the National Assembly of Pakistan,” it said in the letter.

The EVAWG said the caretaker government’s decision about deportation was in conflict with the Generalised System of Preferences Plus regime, which granted Pakistan the European Union’s preferential export facilities.

In the letter, the group insisted that the decision was thoughtless and knee-jerk that led to police-initiated campaigns against Afghan refugees across the country and thus, resulting in widespread reports of harassment, bribery and extortion.

“We reject the notion that all foreigners sans valid visas and documents in Pakistan be subject to deportation. This simplistic view fails to recognise the fact that ‘illegal’ and unregistered refugees had no option due to reluctance of the government to issue Afghans necessary documents,” it said.

The alliance said the Constitution of Pakistan recognised the right of vulnerable people to asylum, a right reaffirmed by the Islamabad High Court in a case.

It added that key respondents in that petition included the federation of Pakistan, secretary of the Interior Division, coordinator of the Apex Committee, director-general of the Immigration and Passports, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, chief commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Nadra, and UNHCR.

The EVAWG Alliance said it viewed with respect ongoing efforts to protect the rights and dignity of Afghan refugees in Pakistan, highlighting the importance of upholding the principles of international humanitarian law and safeguarding the rights of vulnerable populations in the region.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2023