edit in Daily Times, December 20th, 2023
Why is it that an estimated 1.7 million undocumented Afghans living well beyond their welcome in Pakistan only managed to tug at the heartstrings of the Western governments when Islamabad realised it had been pushed against the wall for far too long? Although no sovereign state is bound to explain its domestic policies, especially when standing on the edge of a shaky cliff, to the outside world, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar wrote a detailed commentary piece for a British publication to clear the air about the paraphernalia of his administration’s Afghan Refugee policy. Even the staunchest of critics cannot deny that we had futilely looked towards the international community to play their part in the bargain for decades on end without faltering on our commitments to hosting and helping those in need.
As quite sheepishly noted by the humanitarian agencies, only 15 per cent of the original $613 million regional refugee response plan to support 7.3 million Afghans hosted in neighbouring countries was funded. Ergo, there’s a lot for EU governments to introspect before wagging their menacing fingers in our direction. Other than the fact that Pakistan, the UK and the US belong to different prestige clubs, what is so different between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s thunder against the flow of boats across the Channel, White House’s inclination to new border expulsion laws and Islamabad’s earnestness in putting order to its own house? Add to that the scathing nexus between many among the refugees and terrorism (at least 16 Afghan nationals found complicit in terror attacks since 2021); smuggling and cross-border movement rackets (making Pakistan lose over $3 billion every year) and the tale turns several shades more sordid.
Even now, our constant calls for attention to a hostile neighbour doing dirty under-the-table deals with a militia that has sworn enmity to the state of Pakistan keep falling on deaf ears. Did any of the Western representatives pay heed to chilling accounts of TTP using arsenal straight out of the American cache in Kabul to perfect their sinister designs? Mr Kakar might have hit the bull’s eye when he reaffirmed the “ultimate aim to build a safer, more peaceful and prosperous Pakistan,” but perhaps, detailed information straight from the militant organisations regarding their bonhomie with Afghanistan is needed to further build his case. Islamabad needs to show concrete evidence of how illegal migrants have long acted as a support base to Benami transactions and recruitment networks for the likes of TTP.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/1153228/priorities-priorities/
Priorities, Priorities
edit in Daily Times, December 20th, 2023
Why is it that an estimated 1.7 million undocumented Afghans living well beyond their welcome in Pakistan only managed to tug at the heartstrings of the Western governments when Islamabad realised it had been pushed against the wall for far too long? Although no sovereign state is bound to explain its domestic policies, especially when standing on the edge of a shaky cliff, to the outside world, Caretaker Prime Minister Anwarul Haq Kakar wrote a detailed commentary piece for a British publication to clear the air about the paraphernalia of his administration’s Afghan Refugee policy. Even the staunchest of critics cannot deny that we had futilely looked towards the international community to play their part in the bargain for decades on end without faltering on our commitments to hosting and helping those in need.
As quite sheepishly noted by the humanitarian agencies, only 15 per cent of the original $613 million regional refugee response plan to support 7.3 million Afghans hosted in neighbouring countries was funded. Ergo, there’s a lot for EU governments to introspect before wagging their menacing fingers in our direction. Other than the fact that Pakistan, the UK and the US belong to different prestige clubs, what is so different between British Prime Minister Rishi Sunak’s thunder against the flow of boats across the Channel, White House’s inclination to new border expulsion laws and Islamabad’s earnestness in putting order to its own house? Add to that the scathing nexus between many among the refugees and terrorism (at least 16 Afghan nationals found complicit in terror attacks since 2021); smuggling and cross-border movement rackets (making Pakistan lose over $3 billion every year) and the tale turns several shades more sordid.
Even now, our constant calls for attention to a hostile neighbour doing dirty under-the-table deals with a militia that has sworn enmity to the state of Pakistan keep falling on deaf ears. Did any of the Western representatives pay heed to chilling accounts of TTP using arsenal straight out of the American cache in Kabul to perfect their sinister designs? Mr Kakar might have hit the bull’s eye when he reaffirmed the “ultimate aim to build a safer, more peaceful and prosperous Pakistan,” but perhaps, detailed information straight from the militant organisations regarding their bonhomie with Afghanistan is needed to further build his case. Islamabad needs to show concrete evidence of how illegal migrants have long acted as a support base to Benami transactions and recruitment networks for the likes of TTP.
https://dailytimes.com.pk/1153228/priorities-priorities/
Published in Pak Media comment