Overstay of Afghan Refugees in Pakistan

Afghan refugees due to their overstay in Kohat district of NWFP Pakistan, have become a source of friction with locals of Kohat, mostly locals complain about their dominance over labor market, public transport business and other small businesses in Kohat. Taliban like aggressive and strange behavior of these refugees was also source of irritation for locals of Kohat but now die hard Taliban among their ranks are either arrested or killed, are no more visible in Kohat.   

Nine year old Afghan boy was killed and his five year old brother was critically injured when both were hit by truck on Kohat Pindi road on Saturday evening. According to police sources nine year old Afghan laborer boy Parvez son of Afghan refugee Rehmat Gul along with his five years old brother Shaheel was heading towards  home, near Togh village of Kohat were hit by an out of control truck. Police station Sadar staff has arrested truck driver Muhammad Shoaib resident of Jata Ismaeel Khel and has taken the truck into custody, case against driver Shoaib was registered and investigations are underway. 

2.5 million Afghan refugees are scattered around in Pakistan, affluent among them lives in rented houses located in posh areas of Peshawar, Kohat, Islamabad, Karachi and other cities of Pakistan. In Kohat, Ghulam Banda Afghan refugee camp near Togh village of Kohat is a quite a large camp, Afghan refugees also reside in rented houses at Togh village of Kohat.

 Afghan refugee children work in Kohat bazaar along with their parents in vegetable shops located around government high school # 2 Kohat. These shops are built with mud and have a roof of plastic sheet over four walls, they also sell plastic bags in main bazaar Kohat and in and around vegetable and fruit market area of Kohat.

Afghan refugee children also buy junk in posh areas of Kohat, and can be seen collecting bottles and tins from mounds of garbage, mostly children picking bottles and tins from garbage mounds are less then ten years old.

During recently held Judicial Conference in District Council Hall located in KDA Kohat. Labor officer in his presentation has revealed that no complaint against child labor was ever received by him during his tenure as labor officer in Kohat that is why no action has been taken against violator of law prohibiting child labor. 

Off and on Afghan refugees and nationals get arrested during police search operations in Kohat, twenty suspects including four Afghan nationals were arrested during Kohat police search operation, large cache of arms was recovered from their custody on Sunday. According to press release issued by PRO Fazal Naeem of Kohat police, heavy contingent of police elite commandos and Quick Response Force equipped with heavy weapons, loaded in armored cars, and lead by DPO Dilawar Khan Bangash, DSP Lal Farid and DSP Ihsanullah, was entered in  Shaheeda Banda, Rehman Baba Town, Baqi Zai, Sheikhan, Ghamkole, Raigi Banda, Phalawan Banda, and  Dhairi Banda areas of Kohat, in five hours search operation 22 suspects including four Afghan nationals, namely Meer Khanum, Abdul Karim, Ismaeel, Sherzada and others, were arrested on suspicion of having links with militants, eight Klashinkovs made of Russia, China, Span and Belgium, two Kalakovs, four repeaters, twenty five guns, seven rifles, 68 pistols, 95 chargers and 800 cartridges were recovered from their possession. All the arrested suspects were handed over to police investigation teams for interrogation. Public of respective areas have applauded police effort to restore peace in Kohat region.

According to a press release issued by PRO Kohat police on Monday, data collection regarding umber of Afghan refugee religious scholars working as Imam Mosque in Kohat is underway and strict action will be taken against Imam Mosques having links with militants.

UNHCR scheme to provide 100$ to each returning refugee family, was misused by certain refugee families, they came back to Pakistan again after getting money from UNHCR officials, a refugee says long border between Pakistan and Afghanistan is a big facility for refugees to move freely from Pakistan to Afghanistan and from Afghanistan to Pakistan illegally.

An Afghan refugee public transport driver says, he feels suffocated in Jalalabad, in Kohat he feels relieved and happy. Another refugee public transport driver has told me that he and his family can tolerate the hot summer of Kohat, in Jalalabad there is no traffic rules vehicles on road move upon sweet will of their drivers, in Kohat traffic rules are strictly implemented, I feel safe while driving public transport vehicle and earning for my family here in Kohat.

Overstay of Afghan refugees in Pakistan in general and in Kohat district in particular is a humanitarian crisis, media reports reflect that with growing instability in Afghanistan heavy influx of refugees has been recently witnessed, every day hundreds of refugees enter into Pakistan. Heavy influx of Afghan refugees since last few decades has been causing economic and security problems in Pakistan. Serious efforts o part of UN are required to end this never ending influx of refugees from Afghanistan into Pakistan, refugee women and children are living under subhuman conditions, these hardships are paving the way for growth of extremism within refugee camps, which will ultimately make the work of US lead NATO forces job to reconstruct Afghanistan bit more difficult and dangerous. The menace of Talibanisation might engulf the refugee people living under extreme hardships away from their homes. To avert such possibilities immediate measures regarding rehabilitation of Afghan refugees in their own homeland is the only way out.      

Submitted by

Abdur Raziq

Note: This article of mine was also published at http://raziq1.blogspot.com and at allvoices.com