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Afghans in Pakistan

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Afghans in Pakistan


Notable Afghans in Pakistan:
Aryan Khan · Karim Sadiq
Regions with significant populations
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa · Federally Administered Tribal Areas · Quetta · Karachi · Lahore[citation needed]
Languages
Pashto · Persian (Dari, Hazaragi) · Uzbek · Urdu · English(Pakistani English) · other languages
Religion
Predominately Islam (Sunni · Shi'a)
Minorities:Sikhism · Hinduism
Related ethnic groups
Afghan diaspora

Afghans in Pakistan (Template:Lang-ur, Muhajir Afghans) are immigrants from neighboring Afghanistan who have migrated to Pakistan since the 1980s Soviet war in their country. As of March 2009, some 1.7 million registered Afghan nationals were reported to be living in Pakistan. They are allowed to work and attend schools in the country until the end of 2012.[2] There is a constant flow of population between the two countries because of the loosely-controlled Durand Line border.[3]

History

Afghans have a long history of immigrating to Pakistan, as they may have arrived as early as the 1980s. The population of Afghans in Pakistan consists largely of refugees from the various wars which have plagued Afghanistan. Approximately 3 million Afghan refugees migrated to Pakistan during the 1980s Soviet war followed by the Afghan civil war in the 1990s.

In late 1988, a total of approximately 3.3 million Afghan refugees were housed in Pakistan, mostly in what was then the North-West Frontier Province (NWFP; now Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). It was reported by the New York Times in November 1988 that about 100,000 Afghans were living in the city of Peshawar while more than 2 million were staying in NWFP. The now-closed Jalozai camp was one of the largest refugee camps in NWFP, Pakistan, on the outskirt of Peshawar.

After September 11, 2001, during Operation Enduring Freedom when the United States Air Force assisted by U.S. Navy and British Royal Air Force began or were about to begin bombing al-Qaeda targets inside Afghanistan, an unknown number of Afghans fled their country and crossed into Pakistan. By the end of 2001, there were a total of approximately 5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan, which included the numbers that were born inside that country during the past 20 years.

Since early 2002, more than 5 million Afghans have been repatriated through the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) from both Pakistan and Iran back to their native country, Afghanistan.[4]

Newly arriving Afghan refugees from Pakistan into Afghanistan in 2004.

From 2005 to late 2006, the Government of Pakistan began and completed a registration process of all Afghans living in their country. The total number of registered Afghans were reported at 2.15 million in February 2007.[5]

More than 350,000 refugees were repatriated from Pakistan in 2007, which left the remaining ones at about 2 million at that time.[6] The repatriation process took place between March and October of that year, with each person receiving a travel package of about 100 US dollars. Approximately 80% of the refugees were those living in the former NWFP province, 13% were from Balochistan, 3% from Sindh, and the remaining 4% from Punjab and Pakistan's capital city, Islamabad. The main provinces to where they returned in Afghanistan were Nangarhar (57% returnees), Laghman (6.5%), Kabul (6%), Kandahar (4.4%), Kunduz and Ghazni (3.7% each). In 2006, Kabul was the top province for returnees, followed by Nangarhar, Kunduz, Logar and Paktia.[7]

As of March 2009, up to 1.7 million registered Afghans refugees still remain in Pakistan. They are allowed to live, work and attend schools in the country until the end of 2012.[8] Because Afghanistan is not ready to accept so many returnees at this point, the UNHCR is shifting some refugees abroad, mostly to Canada, Australia, Germany, Norway[9], Sweden and other countries. Each family that returns to Afghanistan, on production of repatriation documents issued by the UNHCR, is provided free plot of land by the Government of Afghanistan to build a new home.[10]

Regions with significant populations

Most Afghans are generally found in the Pakhtun dominated areas of Pakistan, which includes Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Federally Administered Tribal Areas and Quetta in northern Balochistan. Smaller but sizeable communities exist in Karachi, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, and Lahore[citation needed].

Peshawar

Hasti Gul is an Afghan cricketer who lived in Peshawar

During the 1980s Soviet war in Afghanistan, Peshawar served as a center for hosting Afghan refugees. The Jalozai refugee camp alone hosted an Afghan population of 100,000 during the 1988 election when Benazir Bhutto was running for Prime Minister of Pakistan. Peshawar managed to assimilate many of the ethnic Pashtun Afghans with relative ease.[11] Thousands of Afghan immigrants still reside in various parts of Peshawar such as Latifabad, Zaryab Colony, Hayatabad, Tehkal, Afghan colony, Afridiabad and Bashirabad.[12] Peshawar also became home for many Afghan musicians and artists.[13]


Karachi

According to the UNHCR and the local law enforcement agency, about 50,000 Afghan refugees live in Karachi.[14]

Sindh is home to some 50,000 Afghan refugees and most of them are staying in Karachi.[2]

— spokesman for the UNHCR

The police can move only against unregistered Afghans, whose number is very small in Karachi.[2]

— a senior police official in Karachi

Notable people

See also

References

  1. ^ "UNHCR and Pakistan sign new agreement on stay of Afghan refugees". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. March 13, 2009. Retrieved 23 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b c UNHCR and Pakistan sign new agreement on stay of Afghan refugees, March 13, 2009.
  3. ^ Rabia Ali (30 April 2008). "Pakistani TV delves into lives of Afghan refugees". United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  4. ^ "UNHCR hails Pakistan as an important partner". Pajhwok Afghan News. November 3, 2007. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  5. ^ Government of Pakistan - National Database & Registration Authority (NADRA), NADRA Has Registered 2.15 Million Afghan Refugees, February 15, 2007.
  6. ^ UNHCR, November 2, 2007, Over 350,000 Afghans repatriate from Pakistan before winter
  7. ^ UNHCR, November 2, 2007, Afghanistan: Winter break for voluntary returns from Pakistan
  8. ^ UNHCR and Pakistan sign new agreement on stay of Afghan refugees, March 13, 2009.
  9. ^ http://asylmarsj.no/?language=en Support Network for Afghan Asylum Seekers, Norway
  10. ^ Pajhwok Afghan News, Returnees to be allotted plots: Helmand governor (Nov. 4, 2007)
  11. ^ DONATELLA LORCH (November 16, 1988). "Pakistan Restricts Afghan Refugees". New York Times. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  12. ^ "Afghans in Peshawar face police crackdown". Dawn News. December 19, 2009. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  13. ^ Intikhab Amir (December 25, 2001). "Refugee musicians keep Afghan music alive". Dawn News. Retrieved 27 January 2010.
  14. ^ KARACHI: UN body, police baffled by minister’s threat against Afghan refugees, Dawn. February 10, 2009.
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