Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty
November 9, 2023
The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has said that tens of thousands of Afghans, most of them children, who were forced to leave Pakistan since the start of the month are in a dire humanitarian situation and called for immediate action to alleviate their plight.
The OCHA’s acting Humanitarian Coordinator Daniel Endres said that some 60 percent of a “staggering” 20,000-21,000 people who crossed into Afghanistan at Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings between November 1-4 are children.
“Their condition is desperate, with many having travelled for days, unclear of where to return to and stranded at the border,” Endres was quoted as saying by the OCHA on X, formerly known as Twitter.
More than 300,000 Afghans have returned to Afghanistan from Pakistan since Islamabad announced the repatriation of undocumented Afghan migrants on October 3. Since the deadline for voluntary returns expired on November 1, Islamabad has begun forcefully deporting Afghans.
Relations between Islamabad and the Taliban in Afghanistan have become more strained due to the forced expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.
“Funding is urgently required to provide immediate post-arrival assistance” for those stuck at the border, Endres was quoted as saying.
Islamabad’s move has stirred criticism, prompting a U.S. government watchdog to express concern this week over the forced expulsions.
The U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) said it was troubled by reports of increased detentions, violence, and intimidation against Afghan refugee communities in Pakistan.
In a move to deflect the criticism, Pakistan’s acting Prime Minister Anwar ul-Haq Kakar linked the government’s decision to expel the Afghan refugees and asylum seekers to Afghanistan’s Taliban-led government’s inability to stop extremists.
Kakar told a news conference on November 8 that in the more than two years since the Taliban regained power in Afghanistan, the number of attacks by Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan, also known as the Pakistani Taliban or (TTP), has increased.
The Taliban has rejected Pakistan’s accusations, with spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid warning Pakistan not blame the extremist movement for its inability to ensure its security.
Pakistan should solve its domestic issues on its own and not blame Afghanistan for its failures, Mujahid said in response to Kakar’s accusations.
With reporting by RFE/RL’s Radio Mashaal