Taliban’s Defence Minister Call Pakistan’s Treatment of Afghan Refugees “Barbaric”

The organisation has said that these refugees will face Taliban’s persecution in Afghanistan.

Nadia Rahman, Amnesty International’s Interim Deputy Regional Director for research in South Asia, in a statement said that the organisation wants the Pakistani government to allow Afghan refugees to live in Pakistan with dignity and without fear of being deported to Afghanistan.

The organisation also called on the United Nations High Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) to expedite the process of registration and review of applications of Afghans seeking protection in Pakistan.

"The international community must act immediately to keep up their initial promises of providing protection to those fleeing persecution in Afghanistan,” Rahman said.

According to UNHCR, more than 3.7 million Afghans live in Pakistan, and only 1.4 million of them are registered.

On Tuesday, the UNHCR said that Afghan refugees in Pakistan should be allowed to leave the country voluntarily.

Qaiser Khan Afridi, the UNHCR spokesperson in Pakistan, expressed concern regarding the plan to deport Afghan immigrants from Pakistan. He stated that the United Nations is seeking further clarification from relevant Pakistani authorities regarding the government's recent decision in this regard.

Recently, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also reacted to the decision of the government and demanded immediate cancellation of the move. The commission stated that the deportation of over one million immigrants, due to their alleged links to terrorist and criminal groups, not only demonstrates a lack of compassion, but also a short-sighted and narrow view of national security.

However, Tajikistan had a different stance on the issue. Zamir Kabulov said that according to the Tajik authorities, the Taliban had done nothing praiseworthy.

During a press conference held in Moscow on Wednesday, Kabulov supplied insights into Tajikistan's opposing viewpoint, in addition to addressing the joint statement of the recent Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan.

Kabulov said, “Tajikistan requested to be excluded from the list of countries that endorsed the final statement of the Moscow format meeting, and we accepted their request."

The Moscow format meeting on Afghanistan was held on September 29 in the presence of representatives from ten countries in Kazan city of Russia.

Special representatives and senior officials of Tajikistan, India, Iran, Kazakhstan, China, Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Russia, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attended the meeting. The Taliban’s foreign minister also participated as a guest.

According to Kabulov, the joint statement of the summit was issued with the agreement of nine participating countries, except Tajikistan.

Kabulov explained, “Tajikistan has a different viewpoint and strongly criticises the Taliban.”

On Tuesday, the Afghan embassy in The Hague announced that it is "engaging" with the Taliban's foreign ministry.

An official of the Taliban’s Foreign Ministry has also confirmed that the group has been in contact with the embassy of Afghanistan in the Netherlands.

In a statement, the embassy called the purpose of communication with the Taliban as "the need to provide consular services" to Afghan citizens.

However, two former diplomats who are familiar with the affairs of the Afghan embassy in the Netherlands, told Afghanistan International that Rahimi had been in contact with Taliban officials in Kabul since a long time for the purpose of transferring the Afghan embassy in The Hague to this group and continue his work as the group’s ambassador.

Rahimi did not respond to Afghanistan International's calls for comment.

So far, several Afghan embassies in countries that mainly support the Taliban group have been transferred to the representatives of the Taliban.

However, unlike the countries that support the Taliban around Afghanistan, the Netherlands does not have a relationship with the Taliban, and the group will not have a space to operate in the Netherlands. The Dutch government had allowed the embassy of the former Afghan government to continue providing consular services to Afghan citizens, but not to engage in political activities.

Sources of Afghanistan International said that by joining the Taliban, Rahimi has tried to ensure the continuation of his position as an ambassador, and at the same time, unlike other Afghan representatives in the West, he receives a salary and financial support from the Taliban government.

Afghan embassies and consular missions abroad, which are still under the management of diplomats of the former Afghan government, do not receive salaries and services from the Taliban's foreign ministry in Kabul, and their source of income is providing consular services to Afghan clients.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands has not yet responded to Afghanistan International's call about the fate of the Afghan embassy in The Hague.

Asif Rahimi, one of the political figures close to Hanif Atmar, the former foreign minister of Afghanistan, has also worked as the governor of Herat and the minister of agriculture of the country.

Maariv, the Israeli newspaper, published an interview with Ahmad Massoud, the NRF leader, in which Massoud has apparently said that he welcomes the support of any country, including Israel, in the front’s war with the Taliban.

However, the National Resistance Front, in a statement on Wednesday said that "rumours in this regard are completely baseless and misleading”.

The Jerusalem Post newspaper reported that Mariv newspaper has published an exclusive interview with Massoud in which he said that he would be willing to work with Israel in a regional peace initiative.

According to Jerusalem Post, Massoud had said, “I think we should all act together for the advancement of humanity in the face of darkness, terrorism, and ignorance.”

It is not clear where and when this interview took place, but Ahmad Massoud had recently been on a trip to France.

Ali Maisam Nazary, the head of foreign relations of the National Resistance Front, told Afghanistan International on Tuesday that Ahmad Massoud did not give an interview to this Israeli publication.

Mujahid wrote on social media platform X that Pakistan should reconsider its decision to deport Afghan refugees.

Pakistan has given a one-month notice to Afghan migrants to leave the country.

On Tuesday, the Pakistani government announced that Afghans have the right to stay in Pakistan only with a temporary residence card (PoR) and visa.

The Supreme Committee of the Government of Pakistan has warned that after November 1, all business and property of foreign nationals who reside in Pakistan illegally will be confiscated.

According to the decision, the Pakistani government will also "take legal action" against those who have helped "illegal" foreign nationals in renting houses and securing jobs.

On Wednesday, without referring to the decision of the Pakistani government, the Taliban spokesperson urged Islamabad to be patient in dealing with Afghan refugees.

On the other hand, on Monday, Pakistani news agencies reported that the country's government is deporting more than one million "illegal" immigrants.

The media outlets stressed that this decision also includes "Afghans with residence cards" of Pakistan.

In the past months, Pakistani police have arrested and deported hundreds of Afghan citizens.

The Taliban embassy in Islamabad said on Tuesday that Pakistani police have detained more than a thousand Afghan migrants in the last two weeks alone.

Mujahid said that Afghan immigrants have no role in Pakistan's recent "security issues”.

Earlier, Pakistan's interior minister said that 14 of the 24 suicide bombers who attacked the country after January 2023 have been Afghans.

Earlier, some other senior officials of Pakistan claimed that Afghan citizens are involved in the attacks by militant groups in Pakistan.