Over 1.3m Afghan POR cardholders face deportation from Sept 1.
\nJAVED KHAN
\nPESHAWAR
\nAfghan students enrolled in universities and colleges across Pakistan have appealed to the government to allow them to complete their education before enforcing any deportation plan.
\nThey also requested an additional five years\u2019 extension in their stay, stressing that their sudden expulsion would not only disrupt their academic careers but also devastate their families.
\nAddressing a news conference at Peshawar Press Club (PPC), students representatives from different provinces, including Naqeebullah Ayubi, Asadullah Safi, Inayatullah Mohmand, Irshadullah Shirazi, and Jamil Safi, along with Afghan female journalist Muska Safi, said the recent decision of the Pakistani government directing Afghan refugees to leave by August 30 had created a wave of fear and uncertainty among thousands of Afghan students.
\n\u201cWe are very grateful to Pakistan for hosting Afghan refugees for more than 40 years. Our families grew up here, and our entire educational journey began in Pakistan. But forcing us to leave midway will ruin our future and push us into darkness,\u201d one of the students said.
\nIt is pertinent to mention here that the federal government had notified provinces that the repatriation and deportation of over 1.3 million Afghan refugees holding Proof of Registration (PoR) cards will formally begin on September 1.
\nThe move follows the interior ministry\u2019s July 31 announcement that PoR cardholders, the last category of Afghans legally residing without visas, became unlawful residents after their cards expired on June 30.
\nJournalist Muska Safi added that while Afghans wish to return to their homeland one day, Afghanistan is not currently in a position to absorb returning families or students. \u201cThere is unemployment, corruption, and a lack of proper educational institutions. Women are facing increasing restrictions, with beauty parlors and home-based businesses being shut down. How can students or families survive in such circumstances?\u201d she questioned.
\nShe appealed to the Pakistani government to reconsider its decision and urged the Afghan authorities to engage in dialogue with Islamabad to ensure Afghan students\u2019 futures are protected.
\n\u201cGoing to Afghanistan now would mean starting life all over again, from zero, which is very difficult after being raised here in Pakistan,\u201d she said.
\nThe students also criticized the lack of response from international organizations and Afghan diplomatic missions.
\n\u201cUNHCR and the Afghan consulate are silent. No one is raising their voice for Afghan students or refugees,\u201d they said, urging the UN refugee agency to increase its assistance from 35 to at least 1,000 dollars for each returning family.
\nThey further pointed out that Afghan families who are preparing to leave Pakistan are being forced to sell their homes, shops, and belongings, accumulated over four decades, at throwaway prices.
\n\u201cPeople are selling their life\u2019s savings for a pittance while opportunistic buyers stand in line. We request our Pakistani brothers not to exploit this situation and instead pay fair compensation to Afghan families,\u201d they appealed.
\nThe students warned that returning to Afghanistan under the current Taliban-led system would be \u201ctantamount to suicide,\u201d as citizens there lack basic rights and social protections.
\nThey also called on the Afghan Islamic Emirate to provide land and housing support for returning refugees, saying: \u201cAfghans returning from Pakistan should not be left helpless. They deserve land and support as citizens of Afghanistan.\u201d
\nStudents appealed to Pakistan, the Afghan government, and the international community to urgently intervene.
\n\u201cThis is not only the problem of students but also of their families. If this decision is not reconsidered, thousands of Afghan youths will lose their education, families will lose their livelihoods, and a generation will be left in despair,\u201d the speakers warned.
\nIn a letter dated August 4, the ministry of interior directed chief secretaries and police chiefs of all provinces, including Gilgit-Baltistan, and Azad Jammu and Kashmir to implement the Illegal Foreigners Repatriation Plan (IFRP).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Over 1.3m Afghan POR cardholders face deportation from Sept 1. JAVED KHAN PESHAWAR Afghan students enrolled in universities and colleges across Pakistan have appealed to the government to allow them to complete their education before enforcing any deportation plan. They also requested an additional five years\u2019 extension in their stay, stressing that their sudden expulsion […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":497703,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-497699","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-top-news"},"yoast_head":"\n