Afghan refugee crisis brewing
Home to 3 million refugees, Iran and Pakistan are intensifying efforts to send them home. Experts say it will be 'disastrous' for Afghanistan.
from the May 17, 2007 edition
Page 2 of 3
Iran, Pakistan blame refugees for violence
As terrorism flares in Iran and Pakistan, both governments have blamed Afghans for the violence and intensified efforts to send them home.
The Iranian government says that those deported were all illegal immigrants, according to Iranian TV reports, and that registered Afghans can stay.
But international agencies are concerned. "Sending so many people home will overwhelm the government … simply because Afghanistan has so little absorption capacity," says Vivian Tan, a regional spokesperson for the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), speaking from Tehran. "We do believe it should be done in a more humane way."
Iran says it would like all Afghans to leave eventually, though it hasn't specified a timetable.
Developments in Pakistan are also a cause for concern. Quoting a local police officer's account, AFP reported on Wednesday that four Afghan refugees were killed when a team of Pakistani paramilitary troops stormed the Jungle Pir Alizai refugee camp in Balochistan, seeking to evict inhabitants.
Four camps in Pakistan, which together hold 230,000 refugees, are scheduled to be closed by 2009, the first two beginning this summer.
Inhabitants are supposed to have a choice: either go home or be shifted to other camps, which authorities insist are adequate for their needs. But during a high-level meeting this week, members of the Pakistani government reportedly considered using force to expel camp inhabitants, according to Pakistani newspapers. In some areas, economic sanctions – including bans on renting to Afghans – have already been promulgated to force refugees to other areas.
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