Ahmed Saeed
Since decades, Middle East region and associated countries are suffering from various wars based on various grounds. This led native citizens to take refuge in the war-free neighboring countries. As Afghanistan is neighbor to middle eastern countries, so the country also suffered from war on terror and presently, Taliban regime. Whether it is Russian invasion over Afghanistan or American led war on terror, Afghan refugees took sanctuary in the neighboring countries specifically in Pakistan. Being a refuge provide country, Pakistan also suffered from the problems like economic suppression, food insecurity and many more. Appropriate management of refugee crisis can avert the darkness spread by the issue.
The Afghan refugee crisis has been ongoing since the late 1970s, but it was in the 1980s and 1990s that the crisis reached its peak and started to affect Pakistan directly as an influx of Afghan refugees flooded into the country, seeking refuge from their war-torn homeland. In fact, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), at one point, there were more than 6 million Afghan refugees in neighboring countries. Nowadays, the Afghan refugee crisis has decreased significantly. They first came to Pakistan as refugees during the Soviet-Afghan War in the 1980s. Since then, they have continued to come to Pakistan, fleeing war, persecution, and poverty. However, Taliban take over in last year has also exacerbated the situation.
It is estimated that there are approximately 3 million Afghan refugees living in Pakistan, making it the second-largest refugee-hosting country in the world. Most refugees live in camps, which are often overcrowded and lack basic services. Many refugees are also unable to work legally, which can lead to exploitation and extreme poverty. The situation is further complicated by the fact that Pakistani law does not allow for the permanent resettlement of refugees, meaning that they are essentially stuck in a limbo.
Despite all of these challenges, however, many refugees have managed to find a sense of community and belonging in Pakistan. They have created schools, cooperatives, small businesses, and other social organizations that provide an alternative to their lives back home. One such organization is Afghanistan Red Crescent Society (ARCS), which provides healthcare and education to more than 350 refugee families in Quetta with few other resources available. ARCS has been able to provide services largely due to its dedicated volunteers who come from around the world.
While talking about the challenges being faced by Pakistan are unlimited. These, mainly, include population growth, water crises, food shortages, energy scarcity, urbanization and so on. Presently, Pakistan’s population has grown to 220million and 24pc is abject to poverty. Pakistan has the highest rate of urbanization in the region, according to census of 2017, more than 37pc people live in urban areas. In the context of water crisis, per capita water availability has decreased to 978 cubic meter. In case of energy scarcity, it has been observed that the current energy shortfall in Pakistan is exceeding 7,000 MW. Likewise, country’s 40pc population is food insecure. The last but not the least is that refugee crisis has created more problems for the country’s crumbling economy.
Given these points, it is evident that Afghan refugees issue is decades old issue. It is not only caused by Afghanistan but also other middle eastern countries. Despite exposed to severe challenges, Pakistan government is hospitable to the refugees. On the other side, non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are also active in providing shelter and other better facilities to the bag people. In parallel with refugees, hosting country is also bearing the brunt of homeless people in the form of population growth, water crisis and food insecurity. All these issues can be averted through the better management of resources and at a point, there will be no such issue in the country.
Ahmed Saeed is an analyst based in Islamabad
