ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) on Wednesday called upon the government to immediately withdraw its decision to expel undocumented foreigners.
“The decision does not fall within the mandate of a caretaker government to begin with, apart from which it amounts to forced repatriation, which is not recognised under international law, and will invariably affect poor and vulnerable Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, including women, children, the elderly, persons with disabilities, and Afghans at risk because of their professions,” it said in a statement.
At a meeting, former senator and HRCP Council member Farhatullah Babar said that the absence of domestic laws on refugees was no excuse for failing to protect their rights, given Pakistan’s obligations under its tripartite agreement with Afghanistan and UNHCR.
He recommended the institution of a national refugee council as a bridge between the government and refugees to enable the latter to articulate their concerns.
HRCP Council member Sadia Bokhari presented the observations of a recent fact-finding mission, which has found that several Afghan settlements in Islamabad have been demolished by the CDA, ostensibly as part of an anti-encroachment drive.
However, the majority of residents hold POR cards and say they have been subjected to harassment, intimidation and extortion by the police following the government’s decision to expel all undocumented foreigners after November 1.
Refugee rights researcher Dr Saba Gul Khattak underscored the need for accurate and publicly available data on the number of refugees and asylum seekers in order to make fair needs assessments.
The participants agreed, pointing out that the absence of documentation meant there was greater scope for rights violations and that expelling an entire community for solely security-driven considerations amounted to collective punishment.
They also called for timeline-based citizenship that would allow long-term residents to become naturalized as citizens.
Former MNA Mohsin Dawar said that the foreign relations committee he had chaired had unanimously recommended that Pakistan sign the 1951 Refugees Convention.
Representatives of the Afghan refugee community also said that it was not humanly possible for several hundred thousand refugees to return to Afghanistan in under a month when, for so many, Pakistan was the only home they had ever known.
Representatives of UNHCR said that any repatriation of refugees must be voluntary, comply with international standards of dignity and safety, and be based on informed consent for return and reintegration.
An IOM representative said that the agency was willing to mobilize resources to assist the Pakistani government in complying with these criteria.
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