The Federal government has given another extension of six months to the Afghan refugees to stay in Pakistan.
At the moment, Pakistan houses about 3.2 million afghan refugees, of which half are unregistered. They are free to set up households, run businesses and acquire education. Many of them have also obtained Pakistani CNICs with the connivance of our NADRA officials. Though most of these refugees have been involved in labour-intensive and low- paid jobs, some of them have been participating in criminal activities. The Afghan government is pressing Pakistan for extensions after extensions on the pretext that Afghanistan suffers from a financial and security crisis. Pakistan, on the other hand, considers the refugees a burden on its economy and also a threat to its security. There needs to be a consensus between the two governments over their repatriation. Forced and unplanned repatriation of afghan refugees can lead to another crisis. The government of Pakistan must take measures to resolve this problem
M. SAYYAD ALAM KHAN,
Peshawar, July 19.