{"id":2872,"date":"2021-08-18T21:34:00","date_gmt":"2021-08-18T16:34:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ziaurrehman.media\/?p=2872"},"modified":"2021-08-18T21:34:00","modified_gmt":"2021-08-18T16:34:00","slug":"afghans-who-fled-the-first-taliban-regime-found-precarious-sanctuary-in-pakistan-new-refugees-may-get-an-even-colder-welcome","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/2021\/08\/18\/afghans-who-fled-the-first-taliban-regime-found-precarious-sanctuary-in-pakistan-new-refugees-may-get-an-even-colder-welcome\/","title":{"rendered":"Afghans Who Fled the First Taliban Regime Found Precarious Sanctuary in Pakistan. New Refugees May Get an Even Colder Welcome"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

https:\/\/time.com\/6091056\/afghanistan-refugees-pakistan<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

BY SABRINA TOPPA <\/a>AND ZIA UR REHMAN\/<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

KARACHI, PAKISTAN<\/a> AUGUST 18, 2021<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When the Taliban first waved the flag of the <\/a>Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan<\/a> over Kabul in 1996, Syed Nasir\u2019s parents \u2014 worried about imminent violence \u2014 hastily fled to neighboring Pakistan, where they settled in the port city of Karachi. Like many Afghans, they expected to return home once the instability ebbed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But, the Taliban\u2019s brutal rule, followed by the instability of the U.S. invasion and ongoing insurgency meant that Nasir\u2019s family \u2014 and many others \u2014 stayed in Pakistan. Now, 25 years later, these refugees have found themselves experiencing renewed panic and fear \u2014 and a growing sense of d\u00e9j\u00e0 vu \u2014 watching a reinvigorated Taliban assert control over their war-battered country.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nasir, 18, who was born in Pakistan, regularly scans Afghan TV channels and social media for the latest news while checking on his sister, who is still stuck in Kabul. She had been working at a multinational company, but found herself unemployed when the company shut down as the Taliban began ramping up attacks across the country. \u201cWe told her to come to Karachi in July, but she said that the country\u2019s capital would be safe,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are officially 1.4 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, the third-largest refugee population in the world, though the U.N. estimates that the real number is much higher, up to three million<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many were shocked, along with the rest of the world, with the speed at which the Taliban captured Kabul<\/a> and took over the government. \u201cIn my life, I have seen the arrival and withdrawal of Soviet troops, the arrival and withdrawal of U.S. troops, and now the re-emergence of the Taliban,\u201d says Safiullah Noori, 66, an Afghan refugee in Karachi.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A refugee crisis looms<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan is fearful of an impending refugee crisis amid the tumult in Afghanistan. Officials are expecting that up to 700,000<\/a> could flee to Pakistan if the situation in Afghanistan worsens now that the Taliban is back in control. It\u2019s a crisis that the government said it is unprepared to handle without international assistance and financial support.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis is the biggest worry for us right now,\u201d Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry tells TIME. \u201cWe are already hosting three million Afghan refugees. Our economy is not stable enough to take more, and at the same time, the COVID-19 situation doesn\u2019t allow us to open borders.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generations of Afghans have made their home in Pakistan, but their experience shows there is no guarantee that life will improve for refugees who flee over the border. Those who fled the Taliban\u2019s first reign grapple with the constant threat of deportation, police harassment<\/a>, and discrimination.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In recent weeks, Pakistani politicians have resuscitated a discussion on Pakistan\u2019s larger responsibility toward refugees. Many critics feel that Pakistan has historically extended a munificent hand by hosting waves of refugees since the 1979 Soviet invasion of Afghanistan, only to be greeted with refugees who they claim are linked to criminality or terrorism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan is not alone in worrying about a flood of migration from Afghanistan. European officials have voiced concerns about the prospect of refugees traveling to the European Union<\/a>. And neighboring countries like Uzbekistan<\/a> are limiting the number of refugees allowed in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If Pakistan faces another Afghan refugee crisis, Chaudhry says his government is preparing a \u201ccomprehensive strategy\u201d to isolate refugees in temporary camps near the border. \u201cWe would like them not to enter the cities, as happened in the \u201890s,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, some human rights experts say that crowding refugees in temporary border camps runs the risk of creating a public health crisis in a country where COVID-19 cases are still high. \u201cThis is a humanitarian problem,\u201d says Kaleem Durrani, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan\u2019s Karachi coordinator. \u201cThe federal government has not been serious about following COVID-19 [prevention protocols], so it is unlikely that the measures would be followed in the camps.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In order to reduce the number of militants and refugees crossing over, the Pakistani military is continuing to fence its long and porous 1,622-mile land border<\/a> with Afghanistan, 90%<\/a> of which has been completed. However, the Pakistan-Afghan border has never been easy to seal, with ethnic Pashtuns split between Afghanistan and Pakistan regularly traveling to Pakistan for education, medical care or family visits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For refugees like Nasir, the restoration of Taliban rule has changed his ability to be with his family still living in Afghanistan, introducing a new sense of uncertainty. \u201cNow, we do not know what will happen in Kabul,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, scenes of chaos at Kabul airport on Monday offered little solace for refugees. Abdullah Khan, a spokesperson for the state-run Pakistan International Airlines, tells TIME that before the Taliban takeover, Pakistan had arranged a deal with then-President Ashraf Ghani\u2019s government to increase the number of flights to Kabul. \u201cThe challenge was the government fell much quicker than expected, and [on Sunday] all the airport staff left their post in Kabul [and there was no check-in or security staff],\u201d Khan says. \u201cWe understand the situation, there is a panic and need for people to get out.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Pakistan\u2019s balancing act with the Taliban<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The Taliban takeover presents a tricky balancing act for Pakistan. While the government has not publicly expressed support for the Taliban, many observers say it tacitly approves of the takeover. \u201cThe military leadership [in Pakistan] appear to see this as a net win, gaining leverage in Kabul and displacing India in Afghanistan,\u201d Aqil Shah, author of The Army and Democracy: Military Politics in Pakistan<\/em>, says. \u201cPakistan will continue to provide political and diplomatic support to the Taliban regime in Kabul.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Tuesday, Chaudhry said that the country would not unilaterally recognize the Taliban government, and instead wait for a \u201cregional decision.\u201d In March, Pakistan signed a joint statement<\/a> with the U.S. pledging that it would not support a Taliban in government. It remains to be seen whether Islamabad will renege on this pledge, or if it will gradually move toward recognition, in a gesture hearkening back to Pakistan\u2019s embrace of the Taliban<\/a> in the 1990s \u2014 when Pakistan was one of the few states to formally recognize the legitimacy of the Taliban government.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For refugees like Noori in Karachi, however, concerns are more focused on the safety of relatives, who are unable to safely flee to Pakistan. \u201cIt used to be easy to cross the border \u2014 just give 25,000 to 30,000 rupees [$120-$180] to border guards at Chaman,\u201d he said. \u201cBut it seems this time, Pakistan will make it difficult for refugees to enter.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like many Afghans, Noori has prayed for the day he could return to his country. With the Taliban\u2019s resurgence, there is little doubt in his mind that this dream will not materialize. \u201cEven after 40 years, nothing has changed in Afghanistan. Fear, hunger, displacement, and uncertainty are our destiny,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Nasir says his sister is filled with trepidation about the Taliban government she lives under in Kabul, and regrets not coming by road to Pakistan earlier this year. Now it may be too late, but the family has not given up hope: \u201cIf God wills it, she will be with us soon,\u201d Nasir said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitting in Karachi, Nasir says he had been playing an audio message that was circulating of a senior Taliban commander who promised not to target or harm civilians.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cPeople are saying that the Taliban has changed,\u201d Nasir said, \u201cbut this is only the beginning.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

https:\/\/time.com\/6091056\/afghanistan-refugees-pakistan BY SABRINA TOPPA AND ZIA UR REHMAN\/ KARACHI, PAKISTAN AUGUST 18, 2021 When the Taliban first waved the flag of the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan over Kabul in 1996, Syed Nasir\u2019s parents \u2014 worried about imminent violence \u2014 hastily fled to neighboring Pakistan, where they settled in the port city of Karachi. Like many Afghans, they expected to return home once […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2878,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1364,1361,1363,17],"tags":[62],"class_list":["post-2872","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-afghan-migration","category-conflict-militancy","category-karachi-security","category-time","tag-afghan-refugees-in-pakistan"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2872"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2872\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2872"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2872"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/zia-ur-rehman.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2872"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}