Afghan Repatriation

Pakistan remained fortunate to host Afghan refugees who fled Afghanistan to save their lives from the Soviet-Mujahideen war (1979–1989), Afghan internecine conflict (1990–2000), and then the war on terror (2001–2021). For around forty years, Pakistan accommodated them, who touched the figure of four million, both registered and unregistered. Afghan refugees also considered Pakistan their second home.

They were found doing all the hard jobs. Many of them were having their second and third generations born in Pakistan. They got assimilated into the local culture.



The young generation could speak Urdu and regional languages fluently. Now, it is disheartening to see their departure, which is a forced one. It was October 2023 when Pakistan launched a repatriation programme on the excuse that the country had experienced a spike of violence which was being blamed on militants operating from Afghanistan.

This was a lame excuse. The real reason existed somewhere else. Tariffs & Tantrums In Lahore, in 2008, during the lawyers’ movement for the restoration of the judiciary, a truck decorated with the posters of former cricketer Imran Khan and flags of his party (Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf; PTI) used to visit the Mall, playing the slogan “change” on loudspeakers.

This was the PTI’s nominal presence, leaving little impact on the protestors who wanted to get the decision of General Pervez Musharraf undone. By that time, in May 2006, the Charter of Democracy (CoD) had been signed by Nawaz Sharif of Pakistan Muslim League (PML-N) and Benazir Bhutto of Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) in London. Nobody had imagined the impact of the CoD and the lawyers’ movement on Pakistan’s future.

The next two years were eventful. In March 2009, the street agitation led by the PML-N in Punjab instigated the restoration of the higher judiciary. In April 2010, both the PML-N and the PPP materialised the CoD in the form of the 18th Constitutional Amendment.

The amendment was a bouquet of 102 amendments, which changed the entire constitution – to make it (almost) go back to the original spirit of the 1973 Constitution, which had envisaged a weak Centre and strong provinces, expressing the true essence of the federation. This was the time when the truck playing the sound of “change” became significant, and the next generation of Afghan refugees became relevant. In October 2011, both were brought together at one place, the Minar-i-Pakistan, Lahore.

This was the handiwork of Pakistan’s prime spy agency, ISI. On the occasion, the spy agency also arranged manpower in civil dress from the Lahore Garrison, besides clandestinely supplying dissidents from other political parties, including the Jamaat-i-Islami and the PML-Q. Under the mobilisation effect, the Lahoris also attended the gathering to herald the launch of the PTI as a counterpoise to the PML-N in Punjab.

Talks, Not Threats In Punjab, most Afghan refugees were not registered voters, but they could participate physically in street protests. They could fill up the grounds for the consumption of the media. This exercise was in sharp contrast to the practice of the PML-N, which relied on soft presence in the streets.

The PML-N kept banking on its strength of undertaking public works and laying infrastructure, though knowing that the ground beneath its feet had been sliding to agitation politics. Staged by the PTI, the sit-in of 2014 (August–December), called Tsunami March, made the PML-N government realise its vulnerability in the face of agitation politics. In Islamabad, the young generation of Afghan refugees assumed the status of hosts, who could keep the protest swollen and who could brave the police’s onslaught such as the baton charge and tear gas shelling.

This was the time when the PTI realised its strength lying in staging sit-ins and launching street protests. Burning Reality The problem emerged when differences appeared between the army and Imran Khan, who was the Prime Minister. Imran Khan assumed the status of a sovereign who could take independent decisions.

In April 2022, an in-house change removed the PTI from the Centre. The PTI went back to its strength: staging sit-ins and launching street protests. Young Afghan refugees fully supported the PTI, thereby signing on the document of their eventual repatriation.

In May 2023, Imran Khan was arrested, though on dubious charges. By this time, a feeling was rife that the PTI could not be reined in, if its support from young Afghan refugees remained intact. In October 2023, the Interior Minister of the interim government ordered all undocumented Afghan refugees to leave the country voluntarily by November 2023.

The interim government also faced the problem of stabilising the economy, as the dollar was outflowing to Afghanistan from across the Durand Line. Understandably, it was a wilful effort to ruin Pakistan’s economy. This point also militated against Afghan refugees doing business in Pakistan.

Cartoon Whereas the CoD raised the possibility of civilian supremacy, the 18th Constitutional Amendment embodied it. The basic problem is with this amendment. Reportedly, three heads of the ISI remained openly involved in weakening and punishing the PML-N.

Now, on the one hand, the PML-N has lost much of its electoral support base in Punjab, as indicated in the general elections of February 2024, whereas on the other hand, the PTI has lost much of its leadership from Punjab. It is in jail. Both parties are at a loss.

In principle, Afghan refugees should have participated neither in local politics nor in any effort to undermine the local economy. Both factors together made them a liability on Pakistan. Nevertheless, till the time young Afghan refugees were required to serve the purpose of the spy agency, they remained endeared to it.

In fact, they are victims of manipulation. No next general elections can take place in the presence of Afghan refugees, especially in Punjab. Hence, with all hiccups, the process of repatriation will continue.

A Nuanced Approach Dr Qaisar Rashid The writer is a freelance columnist. He can be reached at [email protected] Tags: afghan repatriation.