HRCP urges govt to immediately withdraw decision to deport undocumented foreigners

• HRCP chief says one-size-fits-all solution cannot be applied on all.
• Farhatullah Babar suggests formation of national refugee council.
• Afghan community says meeting Nov 1 deadline not possible.

ISLAMABAD: The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has urged the government to immediately withdraw the November 1 deadline given to undocumented foreigners to leave the country, reported The News.

In a consultation session in the federal capital, HRCP Chairperson Hina Jilani said a one-size-fits-all solution cannot be applied to all refugees and asylum seekers without taking into account the needs of the applicants.

“Even in the deliberate absence of a policy on refugees, Pakistan is still bound by international customary law,” she said, adding that while implementing such a policy humanitarian concerns must be prioritised over security concerns.

HRCP council member Farhatullah Babar said that a lack of Pakistani laws on refugees was not an excuse for failing to protect their rights, given Pakistan’s obligations under its tripartite agreement with Afghanistan and UNHCR. 

He recommended the formation of a national refugee council as a bridge between the government and refugees to enable the latter to voice their concerns.

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.

Meanwhile, Afghan refugee community representatives emphasised that it was not humanly possible for refugees to return to their homeland within a month.

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.

The decision does not fall within the mandate of a caretaker government they added.

It amounts to forced repatriation and will invariably affect poor and vulnerable Afghan refugees and asylum seekers, including women, children, elderly and persons with disabilities, concluded the HRCP.

Pakistan requested not to expel Afghan US visa, refugee applicants

Earlier this week, a coalition comprising former high-ranking United States (US) officials and resettlement organisations had appealed to Pakistan, urging it to not deport Afghan individuals applying to seek refuge in and visas for the US.

The appeal came weeks after Pakistan announced November 1 as the deadline for all undocumented migrants — a substantial number of whom are Afghans — residing in the country to either leave on their own or face expulsion once the ultimatum ends.

The population of the aforementioned migrants includes roughly 20,000 or potentially more Afghans, who escaped their homeland following Taliban's return to power in 2021. 

Many of these migrants in Pakistan are awaiting their applications for the US Special Immigration Visas (SIVs) or refugee resettlement in the United States to be processed.

Pakistan says the deportation process would be orderly and conducted in phases and could begin with people with criminal records.

Some 1.73 million Afghans in Pakistan have no legal documents, according to Islamabad, which alleged that Afghan nationals carried out 14 out of 24 suicide bombings this year.