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Pakistan urges Western countries to expedite resettlement of thousands of Afghan nationals

Pakistan urges Western countries to expedite resettlement of thousands of Afghan nationals
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A worker from the National Database and Registration Authority (NADRA), along with police officers, speaks to an Afghan citizen while checking identity cards, during a door-to-door search and verification drive for undocumented Afghan nationals, in an Afghan Camp on the outskirts of Karachi, Pakistan, on November 21, 2023. (REUTERS)
Pakistan urges Western countries to expedite resettlement of thousands of Afghan nationals
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Police officers stand guard at the main entry gate of Pakistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in Islamabad on January 18, 2024. (AP/File)
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Updated 11 July 2024
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Pakistan urges Western countries to expedite resettlement of thousands of Afghan nationals

Pakistan urges Western countries to expedite resettlement of thousands of Afghan nationals
  • Rights groups say Pakistan foreigners’ deportation drive has targeted those waiting resettlement
  • Foreign office spokeswoman says no plans for government to open talks with Pakistani Taliban
Updated 11 July 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR
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ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is pushing Western countries to expedite the approval and visa issuance process for over 44,000 Afghan nationals awaiting resettlement following the Taliban takeover of Kabul in 2021, the foreign office spokesperson said on Thursday. 

The United States’ presence in countries like Iraq and Afghanistan has relied on the life-saving assistance of thousands of locals who put themselves in danger to serve alongside US troops, diplomats, and contractors. These individuals provided linguistic, cultural, and geographic knowledge to the United States at great personal risk to themselves and their families. 

Since 2006, Congress has established several Special Immigrant Visa (SIV) programs that allow eligible applicants to resettle to safety in the United States. After the fall of Kabul, thousands of Afghans who had filed such refugee resettlement applications entered neighboring Pakistan, but remain trapped in legal limbo, while facing persistent threats for their collaboration with the US. 

Last year, Islamabad began a drive to expel what it called all undocumented foreigners, a campaign that has disproportionately hit Afghans, with over 600,000 repatriated so far. Afghan rights activists and applicants of SIVs have said the deportation drive has also forcibly repatriated scores of Afghans awaiting resettlement in the United States, which Islamabad denies. 

Speaking at a media briefing on Thursday, Baloch said the number of people who had been processed for relocation to third countries was “in the thousands,” with 9,000 awaiting relocation to Australia, 6,000 to Canada, 3,000 to Germany, over 1,100 to the United Kingdom, and more than 25,000 to the US.

“Pakistan has been working with governments of Australia, Canada, Germany, the US, the UK, France and Italy who agreed to take a certain number of Afghan nationals,” Baloch said. “For that we have remained engaged with them and we have urged them to expedite the approval and visa issuance process for these individuals so that they can relocate as early as possible.”

DEPORTATION DRIVE

Islamabad launched the deportation drive last year after a spike in suicide bombings which the Pakistan government, without providing evidence, says were carried out by Afghan nationals. Islamabad has also blamed them for smuggling, militant violence and other crimes. 

A cash-strapped Pakistan navigating record inflation, alongside a tough International Monetary Fund bailout program last year, had also said undocumented migrants had drained its resources for decades.

Until the government initiated the expulsion drive last year, Pakistan was home to over four million Afghan migrants and refugees out of which around 1.7 million were undocumented, as per government figures. 

Afghans make up the largest portion of migrants, many of whom came after the Taliban took over Kabul in 2021, but a large number have been present since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Islamabad insists the deportation drive is not aimed specifically at Afghans but at all those living illegally in Pakistan. 

In October 2023, Pakistan announced phase one of the “Illegal Foreigners’ Repatriation Plan” with a 30-day deadline for “undocumented” aliens to leave the country or be subject to deportation, putting 1.4 million Afghan refugees at risk. Over 600,000 Afghans have been expelled under this phase.

In phase two, Afghans holding Pakistan-issued Afghan citizenship cards (ACCs) will be expelled while phase three is expected to target those with UNHCR-issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards.

Speaking about Pakistan’s deportation drive, Baloch said phase one of the repatriation program had progressed “in a fast manner” over the past several months and was “nearing completion” while a mapping exercise was taking place before the launch of phase two. 

“The implementation and start of phase two will be announced by the government of Pakistan and at this time I do not have an exact date to share,” Baloch added.

On Wednesday, Pakistan extended expired PoR cards given to almost 1.5 million Afghans for a year and Baloch said those holding such cards or who had refugee status in Pakistan were not being considered for deportation at this stage of the plan.

TALKS WITH PAKISTANI TALIBAN

Responding to a question about an offer by the Afghan Taliban government in Kabul to mediate talks between the Pakistan government and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan militant group, the FO spokesperson said the government had no plans to enter talks with “any terrorist organization” involved in the killing of Pakistani nationals.

The TTP has stepped up attacks against Pakistan security forces in recent months, with daily assaults on army and paramilitary posts and targeted killings of police and government officials.

Pakistan blames the surge on neighboring Afghanistan, saying Kabul was not doing enough to tackle militant groups using its territory to target Pakistan, which the Afghan Taliban deny. 

“Pakistan has no design for entering into any talks with a terror group (TTP) that has been involved in killing of Pakistani citizens,” Baloch said. “We expect Afghan authorities to take action against terrorist groups which have found sanctuaries inside Afghanistan and use their territory for terrorist attacks against Pakistan.”

Topics: Pakistan Afghanistan

Pakistani authorities book ex-PM Khan party’s media manager under cybercrime law

Pakistani authorities book ex-PM Khan party’s media manager under cybercrime law
Updated 30 July 2024
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Pakistani authorities book ex-PM Khan party’s media manager under cybercrime law

Pakistani authorities book ex-PM Khan party’s media manager under cybercrime law
  • Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf party says it has been facing a widening crackdown in recent months, which has included bans on holding rallies and arrests of party leaders and supporters
  • Last week, the government announced it would move to ban the PTI over involvement in anti-government and anti-military riots last year, leaking state secrets and for receiving illegal funding
Updated 30 July 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) has booked Ahmed Waqas Janjua, international media coordinator of former prime minister Imran Khan’s party, under the country’s cybercrime law, a senior party member said on Tuesday.
Janjua was “abducted” from his home this month by plainclothes officers, prompting his wife to petition a high court for his recovery. He was later presented before an anti-terrorism court and was remanded into police custody for seven days.
A police report filed last week quoted Janjua as saying during interrogation that “we [social media team of Khan’s party] have been damaging the country daily with the help of internal and external forces, and for it, an anti-state narrative is built daily on social media to damage the country’s sovereignty, integrity and freedom.”
While it was unclear under what conditions Janjua provided the so-called confession, Sayed Zulfikar Abbas Bukhari, ex-PM Khan’s key adviser on media, said this was a “fake confession” and could not work in a court of law.
“Another case on Ahmed Janjua has been lodged by using the PECA (Prevention of Electronic Crimes Act) Act,” Bukhari said in an X post on Tuesday. “This and many other cases have been placed on media & social media teams is a perfect case study of how a severe crackdown is taking place on innocent Pakistanis.”

The PECA law aims to address cybercrimes and regulate electronic communications, covering offences like unauthorized access to data, cyber terrorism, and the dissemination of false information. The law is controversial due to concerns over its impact on freedom of speech, the potential for abuse of power by law enforcement and its broad definitions, which critics argue can be used to suppress dissent and target journalists and opposition parties.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party says it has been facing a widening crackdown in recent months, which has included bans on holding rallies and arrests of party leaders and supporters. This month, the PTI’s Information Secretary Raoof Hassan was arrested from the party’s Islamabad office and remanded in police custody for two days on Tuesday.
On Saturday, the Pakistani government formed a joint investigation team (JIT) under PECA law 2016 to probe individuals accused of “spreading chaos” in the country through a “malicious social media campaign.” The development came after a Pakistani military spokesman, in a veiled reference to Khan’s PTI party, accused “digital terrorists” of making the military’s anti-militancy efforts controversial on social media platforms.
Last week, the federal government announced it would move to ban the PTI over involvement in anti-government and anti-military riots last year, for leaking state secrets and for receiving illegal foreign funding. Khan and the PTI say all charges against them are motivated to keep them out of politics and dent their popularity.
Khan has been in jail since August last year, even though all four convictions handed down to him ahead of a parliamentary election in February have either been suspended or overturned.
After being acquitted on the last of those four convictions, authorities rearrested Khan and his wife in an old corruption case on charges of selling state gifts unlawfully. He also faces an accusation of inciting his supporters to attack military installations in May last year. Khan denies all the accusations.
His party secured the largest number of seats in parliament in the February general election despite what Khan’s party says is a military-backed crackdown that aims to keep him out of power. It also won nearly two dozen extra parliament seats in a court ruling last week.
Khan blames his 2022 ouster in a no-confidence vote on Pakistan’s powerful army generals after he fell out with them, a charge the army denies.

 

Topics: Federal Investigation Agency

Chinese envoy urges government, rights groups to ‘set aside’ differences amid days of Balochistan protests

Chinese envoy urges government, rights groups to ‘set aside’ differences amid days of Balochistan protests
Updated 30 July 2024
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Chinese envoy urges government, rights groups to ‘set aside’ differences amid days of Balochistan protests

Chinese envoy urges government, rights groups to ‘set aside’ differences amid days of Balochistan protests
  • Thousands have gathered in Gwadar, heart of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor, since last week to protest alleged rights abuses in Balochistan
  • Tensions soared in the province when a protester and a Pakistani soldier died in clashes, while dozens of others have been injured on both sides
Updated 30 July 2024
NAIMAT KHAN

KARACHI: A Chinese diplomat in Pakistan on Tuesday urged political parties and rights groups in the restive Balochistan province to “set aside” their differences and focus on construction and economic development of the region, which has seen violent protests since last week.
Thousands of people have gathered in Gwadar, home to a key Chinese-built deep seaport central to the multi-billion-dollar China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), since last week to participate in a Baloch rights movement, organized by the Baloch Yakjehti Committee (BYC) group led by 31-year-old human rights activist Dr. Mahrang Baloch, on Sunday.
Tensions soared in the province on Saturday when more than a dozen protesters, enroute to Gwadar for Sunday’s public gathering, were injured in clashes with security forces in the Mastung district, officials and protesters said. The clashes took place amid a shutdown of Internet, mobile phone and broadband services in parts of Balochistan.
Gulzar Dost Baloch, a BYC member who was leading a caravan in Quetta, said supporters were leaving Mastung for Gwadar when “security forces attacked the buses with straight gun fire.” The BYC later said one protester was killed in the clashes, while the Pakistani army said on Monday that a Pakistani sepoy was killed and 16 others, including an officer, were injured in “unprovoked assaults.”
“Some people said that ‘without the stability of Balochistan, there’s no stability of Pakistan.’ So, I agree with this and this view,” Chinese Consul General Yang Yundong told reporters in Karachi, when asked about Beijing’s view on the protests in Balochistan.
“We hope that all the political parties and social organizations take their overall national interest into account and to set aside that difference and focus on construction and economic development and to take the people’s interest as a top priority.”
Gwadar, situated along the Arabian Sea, lies at the heart of China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CEPC), under which Beijing has funneled tens of billions of dollars into massive transport, energy and infrastructure projects in Pakistan.
But the undertaking has been hit by Islamabad struggling to keep up its financial obligations as well as attacks on Chinese targets by militants in Balochistan and elsewhere in the country.
Yang said Gwadar was central to CPEC and noted the completion of several projects, including the new Gwadar International Airport, in the southwestern Pakistani city. He emphasized that China was committed “to develop Gwadar into a transshipment harbor.”
“Under Gwadar, Balochistan has great potential,” he said, highlighting the province’s mine and mineral wealth. “We will put that and the cooperation in the mining sectors as a breakthrough of our industry corporations. So hopefully and with the stabilization of the situations and with the consented efforts from both sides, from China, Pakistan, the CPEC will bring more tangible benefit to local peoples.”
Pakistan’s Balochistan province, which borders Iran and Afghanistan, is the site of a low-level insurgency for the last two decades by separatists who say they are fighting what they see as the unfair exploitation of the province’s wealth by the federation.
The Pakistani state denies the allegation and says it works for the uplift of the impoverished province. The government and army have often blamed neighbors India, Afghanistan and Iran of stoking tensions in Balochistan and funding the insurgency, which they deny.
The Chinese diplomat said the world was facing a new “period of turmoil and transformation,” with regional conflicts dragging on, and instability, uncertainty and unpredictability spreading globally.
“We want to build Balochistan into a more stable and prosperous province,” he said. “As all-weather strategic cooperative partners, China and Pakistan’s relationship has withstood the test of international changes and remains rock-solid and stable as Mount Himalayas.”
A month ago, Yang said, Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif had visited China where leaders of the two countries had reached a broad consensus on further deepening the strategic cooperative partnership between China and Pakistan.
“Our two countries maintain close communication and exchanges at all levels and our relationship is very unique,” he added.
The Chinese consul general said the two sides would build on the achievements of CPEC and jointly develop five major corridors for growth, better life, innovation, green development and openness, creating an upgraded version of CPEC and aligning it with Pakistan’s ‘5Es’ framework that focuses on economy, energy, education, environment and equality in order to benefit the two countries and peoples.
“Without security, there is no guarantee for development,” he said, adding that during his meeting with PM Sharif, President Xi Jinping had clearly stated that China supported Pakistan’s fight against militancy and hoped Islamabad would continue to create a “safe, stable and predictable business environment,” ensuring the safety of Chinese people, projects and institutions in Pakistan.
“We firmly believe that with strong guidance from the high-level consensus of the two countries and joint efforts of relevant departments, security cooperation between the two countries will surely reach a higher level, creating a safe environment and providing reliable guarantees for the development of China-Pakistan relations,” Yang added.

Topics: Baloch Yakjehti Committee

Pakistan says providing power subsidy to 86 percent consumers amid cost-of-living protests

Pakistan says providing power subsidy to 86 percent consumers amid cost-of-living protests
Updated 30 July 2024
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Pakistan says providing power subsidy to 86 percent consumers amid cost-of-living protests

Pakistan says providing power subsidy to 86 percent consumers amid cost-of-living protests
  • Pakistan this month approved $179.5 million subsidy for electricity consumers using up to 200 units a month
  • Analysts believe short-term relief won’t affect country’s IMF program, but extending it could cause problems
Updated 30 July 2024
SAIMA SHABBIR

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Petroleum Minister Dr. Musadik Malik said on Tuesday the government was providing relief to 86 percent of electricity consumers who were using less than 200 units a month, adding the impact of a Rs50 billion ($179.5 million) subsidy would likely be visible next month.
Malik’s statement came amid a protest by thousands of Jamaat-e-Islami (JI) supporters in the garrison city of Rawalpindi for the fifth consecutive day on Tuesday, demanding a reduction in power tariffs, petroleum levy and prices of essential products. The party has announced plans to widen its protests to other cities as well.
Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif this month approved a three-month, Rs50 billion subsidy for electricity consumers using up to 200 units a month. This decision came in response to backlash from the salaried class over the tax-heavy federal budget, which intensified debates about the escalating costs of living in Pakistan.
The announcement followed the Pakistani government’s approval of a roughly 51 percent increase in electricity costs for low-income consumers to meet requirements set by the International Monetary Fuund (IMF) as part of a recently agreed $7 billion loan deal with Islamabad.
“Pakistan’s 86 percent of households use less electricity than 200 units and the government will pay for it,” Malik told reporters at a media briefing in Islamabad. “The Prime Minister has ordered the treasury to withdraw Rs50 billion from the development fund to provide subsidies to these 86 percent consumers [and] the impact of this will be visible from next month.”
The minister said there had been a lot of “noise” about electricity bills and the government was concerned about the masses.
“But this is not enough because the price of electricity is high. That’s why three, four committees have been formed,” he said. “I have even been made head of a committee and every week, we are reporting to the Prime Minister. They will find a solution that will benefit all.”
Analysts believe while a short-term relief will not impact the IMF program, but extending it beyond September could pose problems, stressing the need for a long-term solution to the issue.
Shehbaz Rana, a journalist who closely covered the IMF program, said since the government withdrew this Rs50 billion amount from the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) to provide temporary relief to electricity consumers, there would be no negative impact on the IMF program in the short term.
“If the government tried to further extend this temporarily beyond the end of September, then there might be issues for the IMF program,” he told Arab News.
Rana pointed out the government’s decision to temporarily freeze electricity rates for consumers using up to 200 units a month was only a “partial solution.”
He said the government had postponed planned increases of “14 percent to 51 percent” in electricity prices, and this deferral, effective from July 1 to September 30, was not a permanent fix.
“From the 1st of October, the new rates, which means up to 51 percent increase for the residential consumers, will take effect for all classifications of the residential consumers whether these are the users of 200 units or above 200 units,” Rana said.
Dr. Khaqan Najeeb, an economist and a former spokesperson of the finance ministry, said the IMF would likely agree with this measure as this money was being taken out of the PSDP and did not disturb the overall fiscal framework.
“At the general level, there must be a realization that the electricity sector in particular and the energy sector overall need a restructuring effort in terms of reorganizing the sector, which mainly is a governance issue, and reorganizing is now a necessity in the next three to five years,” he told Arab News.
Dr. Ali Salman, executive director of an Islamabad-based Policy Research Institute of Market Economy (PRIME) think tank, stated that while the IMF might not have had an issue with the measure, it was merely a “temporary fix” and would not address the underlying problem.
“Obviously the cost of electricity is too high for low-income households and instead of showing this relief in an unsustainable manner, the government can cut the costs of the electricity bill by reducing the tax collection on these bills by about 25 percent of the bill which we pay,” he said.
Every time, he noted, the government reallocated the budget from something to provide temporary relief, describing it as a practice that was “neither advisable nor sustainable.”

Topics: Pakistan power subsidy

Pakistan’s finance ministry forecasts July inflation of 12 percent to 13 percent

Pakistan’s finance ministry forecasts July inflation of 12 percent to 13 percent
Updated 30 July 2024
Reuters
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Pakistan’s finance ministry forecasts July inflation of 12 percent to 13 percent

Pakistan’s finance ministry forecasts July inflation of 12 percent to 13 percent
  • Central bank cut rates this week for the second time in a row as previously surging inflation was tempered
  • Government had also cut fiscal deficit to 4.9 percent of GDP between July 2023 and May 2024, down from 5.5 percent last year
Updated 30 July 2024
Reuters

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s finance ministry expects inflation in July to range between 12 percent and 13 percent, easing further in August to stand between 11.0 percent and 12.0 percent, it said in a monthly economic outlook released on Tuesday.
Inflation figures likely to be released on Thursday by the statistics agency are closely watched by the central bank, which cut rates this week for the second time in a row as previously surging inflation was tempered.
The government had also cut the fiscal deficit to 4.9 percent of GDP between July 2023 and May 2024, the ministry said in its report, down from 5.5 percent last year.
Pakistan struck a deal this month with the International Monetary Fund for a $7-billion-loan program that includes tough measures such as higher tax on farm incomes and electricity prices.
This prospect has aroused concern among poor and middle class Pakistanis contending with the threat of further inflation and higher taxes.
Inflation has slowed in recent months after hitting more than 30 percent in 2023. Pakistan’s consumer price index (CPI) rose 12.6 percent in June on the year.
But pressure continues and one Islamist party has held protests in recent days and threatened sit-ins in major cities if the government does not tackle rising prices.

Topics: Inflation

Pakistan face Kuwait today in Asian U18 Volleyball Championship

Pakistan face Kuwait today in Asian U18 Volleyball Championship
Updated 30 July 2024
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Pakistan face Kuwait today in Asian U18 Volleyball Championship

Pakistan face Kuwait today in Asian U18 Volleyball Championship
  • On Monday, Pakistan defeated India in a thrilling match of tournament
  • The Green Shirts bagged a 3-2 win over South Korea in their first match
Updated 30 July 2024
Arab News Pakistan

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan will be facing Kuwait today, on Tuesday, in their third match of the Asian U18 Volleyball Championship in Bahrain.
The Green Shirts bagged a 3-2 win over South Korea in their first match. Pakistan dominated in all departments in their second match against India on Monday, defeated the traditional rivals with an impressive scoreline of 3-0.
Pakistan’s third and last group match against Kuwait is scheduled to begin at 9pm Pakistan time, according to the Pakistan Volleyball Federation (PVF).
“The team is determined to continue their winning streak and bring further glory to the nation,” the PVF said in a statement.
The national side victory over India marked a significant achievement for Pakistan as the team exhibited outstanding skill and determination in the game.
Ajmal Junaid, Abubaker, Muhammad Yahya and Muhammad Anas demonstrated exceptional play and coordination in securing the victory, which not only uplifted the team spirit but also brought immense joy to volleyball fans across Pakistan.
The 15th Asian U18 Volleyball Championship began on July 28 and will continue till August 4.

Topics: Asian U18 Volleyball Championship Pakistan v India

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