Islamabad: Pakistan has asked the international community to support the country’s efforts for rehabilitation of Afghan refugees amid fears of a fresh influx of refugees due to the ongoing conflict in Afghanistan.
Prime Minister Imran Khan called upon the European Union and the global community to support Pakistan in its efforts to assist Afghan refugees. Pakistani premier discussed the Afghanistan situation and Pakistan-EU cooperation on the sidelines of an international conference in Uzbekistan’s capital Tashkent during his two-day official visit.
PM Imran Khan in his meeting with European Union’s High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy/Vice-President of the European Commission Josep Borrell highlighted Pakistan’s significant contributions to the Afghan peace process and intra-Afghan negotiations. He stressed that “the conflict could only be settled through an Afghan-led and Afghan-owned political process leading to a comprehensive negotiated political settlement.”
Expressing concern over the deteriorating situation in Afghanistan and its negative impact on Pakistan’s security situation, Khan emphasised the importance of continued engagement of the international community following the withdrawal of foreign forces from Afghanistan to facilitate lasting peace and resettlement of refugees.
Pakistan has been hosting Afghan refugees for 40 years, making it home to one of the world’s largest refugee populations. But the officials say that the country is not equipped to handle a new influx if the security situation in Afghanistan continues to worsen after the withdrawal of foreign troops.
Pakistan had been taking care of three million Afghan refugees for decades due to the conflict but if “there will be another influx of refugees, we do not have the capacity or the economic strength to bear it,” Khan said during his speech at a conference in Tashkent.
Islamabad is hoping that many of the refugees would return home as soon as the conditions improve inside Afghanistan. Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has expressed hopes for conducive conditions in Afghanistan for a time-bound roadmap that leads to safe and dignified repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland.
