ISLAMABAD, July 11 (TNS): Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions (SAFRON) Lt. Gen (R) Abdul Qadir Baloch on Tuesday said that the international community was spending much more on Syrian refugees than the Afghan refugees.
“Afghan refugees are one of the main problems Pakistan is dealing with and we are dealing this problem alone without any assistance,” he said while addressing the International Conference on Refugee Crises: Lessons from Pakistan and beyond organized by National University of Sciences and Technology (NUST) – Islamabad in collaboration with Hanss Seidel Foundation, Pakistan in Islamabad.
The Minister said, “International community only pays us half a dollar per year for education and one dollar per year per head for Afghan refugees. Pakistan as a neighbor had made its contribution in meeting needs of Afghan refugees. The international community has realized that 30 percent of Afghan refugees were now heading towards Europe.”
Abdul Qadir said, “This conference will provide a platform for local and international researchers and experts to share their research and experiences. We welcome their ideas from broad range of disciplines including social science, political science, international relations and security studies.”
In his welcome remarks Rector NUST Lt Gen Naweed Zaman, HI (M) (R) said, “In the backdrop of recent refugee crisis in Europe, there is an increasing realization to commensurate the global menace with deserving attention.”
“Though different parts of the world have experienced and shared the pain of losing their populations into refugee camps and welcoming refugees in millions, yet, the current refugee crisis is arguably the worst humanitarian crisis since the Second World War. The influx of the refugees has jolted socio-political terrains of the host countries, and the collective response has appeared in the form of and securitization’ of migration,” he said.
“Interestingly, before the current security situations in Syria and Iraq, and the refugee fallout, we appear to have overlooked the enormous experience of Kenya, which has hosted millions of Somali refugees, and how different African nations have addressed the issue of refugees inundating their borders and shores,” Zaman said.
“Similarly, Pakistan’s relation to management of millions of war-stricken Afghan refugees since 1980s is of significant importance to refugee management in South Asia. In fact, Pakistan has emerged as one of the largest refugee host nation in the world. Despite political turmoil, intense security situation, and economic hardships, the country has managed to gain enormous experience and understanding of the issues regarding the refugee crises, including the ongoing repatriation and rehabilitation process,” he added.
Later Kristof Duwaerts, Resident Representative Hanss Seidel Foundation said, “Afghanistan has recently formed a high-level Displacement and Return Executive Committee (DiREC) to prioritize assistance needs and reintegration prospects of internally displaced people and returnees under the Afghanistan’s National Peace and Development Framework.”
“Pakistan also adopted a national policy relating to the management of Afghan refugees and Afghan nationals living in the country. This provides a comprehensive, predictable and sustainable response to managing refugee and migration issues in Pakistan,” he said.
He also said, “Afghanistan situation has invited the major powers to jointly render for peace. But role of Pakistan is distinct in terms of geographic and cultural links between Afghanistan and Pakistan.”
In the two days conference, a number of strategists, scholars, think tanks including former diplomats and academia would share their views on refugee crises in various sessions. The conference is expected to extend recommendations and suggestions for the stakeholders as way forward to overcome the refugee crises and learn from Pakistan mistakes.
