Leave the country or get thrown out – this is the message of Balochistan Home Minister Sarfaraz Bugti to the Afghan refugees in Pakistan. The comments reflect growing xenophobia within a country that is only beginning to confront the demon of home-grown terrorism. Afghan refugees have become the easy target following the country’s failure to curb terrorism within its borders. Speaking after the arrest of six alleged Afghan spies, Bugti chose to use the moment to spout hatred on the wretched and vulnerable. If Bugti is to be believed, all Afghan refugees living in Pakistan are either terrorists or spies. This is a bizarre rewriting of the consequences of Pakistan’s involvement in the wars in Afghanistan in both the 1980s and 2000s. The bulk of Afghan refugees fled home to seek sanctuary in places without war – not to wage war across the border. We had a lot to do with them becoming refugees in the first place when we fanned the flames of war by arming and sending (back) the ‘mujahideen’ across the border. In the 1990s, we were the chief backers of the Taliban and responsible for prolonging the Afghan civil war. After 9/11, we were the first to sign up with the US war effort in the region. Before we bemoan the Afghan refugees, we should first consider our role in ensuring they don’t have a peaceful country to which they can return. The two types of Afghans that Pakistan has problems with are not refugees. They are spies and militants. Curbing the movement of these two is the task of the country’s security apparatus; and this does not require demonising all Afghans in Pakistan. Instead it requires good intelligence work and border patrolling, both issues that fall within the purview of the Balochistan home minister.
Blaming the refugees distracts us from asking the real questions. How did Mullah Akhtar Mansour get a CNIC and a passport? How did the alleged Afghan intelligence officials arrested in Balochistan enter the country? Bugti must recognise that pandering to the gallery can only work for so long. Even as we – along with the other countries involved – have done little to bring about peace and security in Afghanistan, we have done precious little to make the refugees feel welcome. Most of them are herded into camps, not given identification cards – let alone citizenship – and constantly told they have to go home. They are scapegoated, as Bugti just did, for the rise of militancy. The state has made little effort to repatriate the refugees in an orderly manner. It should be dealing with Afghanistan in a systematic way on the issue instead of the refugees being turned into a useful demon. The reason the Afghan refugees have neither been repatriated nor naturalised is our lack of seriousness with respect to them. Blaming them for terrorism – our own Frankenstein’s monster – will not absolve us from our role in the mess we find ourselves in. We must treat refugees with the dignity they deserve. http://www.thenews.com.pk/print/123540-Throw-out-hatred
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