Islamabad: During the last 40 years, people of Pakistan have demonstrated exemplary generosity, compassion and solidarity in hosting millions of Afghan refugees, said Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi on Saturday.
On World Refugee Day, Pakistan renewed its commitment to share the global burden, but urged for international support for millions of displaced people. “Global support to refugees and host communities as a shared responsibility,” is imperative today more than ever due to the devastating impact of COVID-19, he said. Pakistan’s COVID-19 response has been inclusive, offering services to both citizens and refugees without any discrimination.
Pakistan values the commendable work of United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and hopes for an “early peaceful settlement in Afghanistan, a time-bound, gradual, well-resourced and mutually agreed framework for the repatriation of Afghan refugees to their homeland, Qureshi said.
‘Exemplary hospitality’ In Islamabad, UNHCR and the Office of the Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Ministry of States and Frontier Regions (Safron), held a virtual meeting to express solidarity with refugees and host communities. UNHCR’s Pakistan Representative, Noriko Yoshida, lauded the Pakistani people and government for hosting refugees for more than four decades saying: “Pakistan’s hospitality and generosity are exemplary.” She further said: “85 per cent of refugees are in developing countries, despite their own challenges.”
Reiterating the government’s resolve to assist refugees, Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Saleem Khan, said: “We will not fail in caring for our Afghan brothers and sisters.” However, development initiatives in the areas that are shouldering the burden are equally important and it requires funding, he said. “We expect the international community to deal with the Afghan refugee situation in the same way as it deals with other global emergencies,” he urged.
Hosting millions of refugees for four decades
Pakistan is home to an estimated three million Afghans, 1.4 million of whom are documented, making the South Asian country the third-largest refugee-hosting country in the world, after Turkey and Colombia, according to the UNHCR Report. Pakistan has been praised for taking care of the refugees despite its own challenges. The use of biometric registration, access to education and health care and inclusion in the economy have received global acclaim.
“Refugees in Pakistan are well-integrated with society using all essential facilities available for citizens of Pakistan,” Minister for Safron, Shehryar Khan Afridi, said, adding that refugees need greater global attention. https://twitter.com/ShehryarAfridi1/status/1274270391163400192
Envoys laud Pakistan’s generosity
On World Refugee Day, several diplomats expressed their gratitude and offered their assistance to support refugees in Pakistan.
Germany’s Ambassador to Pakistan, Bernhard Schlagheck, lauded the resilient Afghan refugees, their Pakistani hosts and aid workers on the frontlines during this pandemic. (https://twitter.com/GermanyinPAK/status/1274220749214093312
Australia’s High Commissioner Dr Geoffrey Shaw shared that Australia was partnering with UN migration agency, IOM Pakistan, to offer vocational skills training to women refugees and locals to help them “earn an income and contribute to the development of their communities”.
The Canadian High Commission tweeted that the country was supporting UNHCR Pakistan to provide emergency assistance to Afghan refugees for protection,health, shelterand livelihoods in Pakistan. https://twitter.com/CanHCPakistan/status/1274213976977690624
UN chief praises Pakistan’s humanitarian role
UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres praised Pakistan’s compassion for refugees and said that “it’s time for the international community to assume its responsibilities and to support Pakistan very meaningfully”, during his February 2020 visit to attend the international conference to mark 40 years of the presence of Afghan refugees in the country.
Afghan refugee teacher helps educate girls in Pakistan
When Aqeela Asifi fled Afghanistan in the early 1990s and moved to Pakistan, she was just a refugee. But today, she is an inspiration and role model for many girls. Afghan teacher Asifi, 54, dedicated her life to educate refugee girls in the Kot Chandana refugee village in Mianwali, Pakistan, and won the 2015 UNHCR Nansen Refugee Award. She began with just 20 students in a borrowed tent, which soon grew into six tents and later an entire building. In the 23 years, she has taught more than 1,000 girls. Her efforts have encouraged more schools to open in the village, and now another 1,500 boys and girls are enrolled in six schools.
Afghan refugee doctor heals Pakistan’s poor
A female Afghan refugee doctor, Saleema Rehman, recently received global praise for making a substantial difference to the “lives of the poorest” in Pakistan. Saleema, 29, works at the Holy Family Hospital in Rawalpindi and is known as the first-ever doctor in the Afghan-Turkmen community in Pakistan. Her father Abdul Rehman, who fled Afghanistan at the age of 13, played a key role in Saleema’s education by working two jobs. Winning the scholarship offered by Pakistan helped her realise her dream to become a doctor. Her father says: “Saleema is an example for Pakistan, for our community, for Afghanistan. She is an example for the people.”
