Sitwat Waqar Bukhari
As the global economy contracts with a number of productive sectors on the verge of near bankruptcy in the wake of the growing rise in COVID-19 cases, refugees around the world remain amongst the most adversely hit factions due to the continuous threat to their livelihoods. In the case of Pakistan, where coronavirus cases have begun to rise again, the news of the expiry of the Proof Of Registration (POR) cards by Pakistan’s National Database Regulatory Authority (NADRA) and the Afghan Citizen Cards (ACC) on June 30 came as a jolt for the 1.4 million Afghan refugees in the country already troubled by shrinking economic opportunities to make their ends meet amid the pandemic.
Prior to the date of expiry, Pakistan’s Ministry of State and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) had approached the federal cabinet to take a decision on the extension these cards. However, the matter has yet to be discussed in the cabinet’s meetings. In the meantime, though, the Interior Ministry has been asked to direct all relevant law enforcement departments and agencies not to trouble Afghan refugees in the meantime, until a decision from the government is communicated. On the other hand, officials privy to the development have also stated that some alternate measures will be taken to allow the refugees to continue living in the country legally; a big relief for the Afghan community.
At the same time, as a poverty alleviation measure directed at Afghan refugees, United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) had launched a cash program, providing each family with a one-time cash assistance of Rs 12,000 – a model similar to the federal government’s Ehsaas emergency cash programme to help the needy affected by the novel coronavirus. This was done keeping in view that thousands of Afghan refugee families living across Pakistan used to drive their income from daily wages which had been halted due to the partial lockdown imposed as a result of the pandemic. According to the UNHCR spokesperson in Pakistan Qaiser Afridi, with the recent development of the refugees’ cards having expired, the implementation of the program could be affected, hoping that the government would extend the validity of these cards soon.
According to a UNHCR Report, Pakistan is home to an estimated three million Afghans in total. 1.4 million of these are documented. This makes the South Asian country the third-largest refugee-hosting country, after Turkey and Colombia, in the world. Despite its own challenges, including especially the financial constraints, Pakistan has also received global acclaim for taking care of the refugees, including providing services such as the use of biometric registration, access to education and health care and inclusion in the economy. Minister for SAFRON, Shehryar Khan Afridi, has also affirmed that refugees in Pakistan are well-integrated with society with access to all essential facilities that are available for the citizens of Pakistan.
On June 20, on the occasion of the World Refugee Day, UNHCR’s Pakistan Representative, Noriko Yoshida, also lauded the Pakistani people and the government for hosting the refugees for more than four decades, noting that, “Pakistan’s hospitality and generosity are exemplary.” At the same time, while Chief Commissioner for Afghan Refugees, Saleem Khan, reiterated the government’s resolve to assist refugees, he urged the international community to share Pakistan’s burden and deal with the Afghan refugee situation in the same way as it deals with other global emergencies.
In a recent meeting held between the visiting US Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation Zalmay Khalilzad to Pakistan on July 2 and Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, the latter, while noting the 40 years of hospitality extended by Pakistan to the Afghan refugees, also underlined the role of the international community for a time-bound and well-resourced road-map for their return to their homeland with dignity and honour.
Earlier on June 9, while addressing a Webinar hosted by Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi also called for the provision of liquidity and necessary fiscal space through a stimulus package and debt relief for large refugee hosting countries, such as Pakistan and Turkey, during the pandemic. He stated that Pakistan had been financing the needs of the Afghan population in the country through its own resources without any discrimination. Amid the pandemic now, as part of the required facilities, Qureshi asked for the immediate provision of testing kits, personal protective equipment, sanitizers, masks and isolation facilities, ventilators and ambulances.
Furthermore, Qureshi also stated that United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees only provides limited support to whom they consider a refugee, which includes the 1.4 documented Afghan refugees in Pakistan but excludes the 1.6 million also present in the country. The Minister stated that UNCHR had launched an appeal of 20.6 million dollars for Afghan refugees to address the additional challenges posed by COVID-19 as well while also taking into account the remaining 1.6 million Afghan refugees present in the country. He affirmed no state can handle the magnitude of this crisis alone, urging that international cooperation is required more than ever before. He had also urged that hostilities in the countries of origin of refugees should be ceased to stop further displacement while work on the creation of pull factors for the return and reintegration of the refugees should also be expedited.
As the world remains engulfed by the challenge of COVID-19, it is certainly imperative that the resources for protecting the refugees are pooled together in this time to prevent the spread of the virus amongst the impoverished communities and also uphold their rights, as mentioned in international treaties. In this regard, the world community needs to come together in assisting those countries that are hosting large refugee populations.
Sitwat Waqar Bokhari is a Research Fellow at the Center for Research and Security Studies (CRSS) and Program Manager at Afghan Studies Center (ASC). She tweets @SitwatWB.
