Taliban’s Defence Minister Call Pakistan’s Treatment of Afghan Refugees “Barbaric”
Mullah Yaqoob, the Taliban's defence minister, condemned Pakistan's decision to deport Afghan refugees. Yaqoob called Pakistan's treatment of Afghan immigrants "horror and barbaric".
He stated that the expulsion of Afghan immigrants strains and damages the relations between the two countries.
He also called the decision of Islamabad "unfair" and asked international organisations as well as the people and scholars of Pakistan to prevent the deportation of Afghan immigrants.
The Taliban’s Defence Minister expressed these remarks on Thursday at the graduation ceremony of the group’s police academy.
Simultaneously, Mullah Yaqoob asked the immigrants to return to Afghanistan and claimed that security has been provided in the country.
Abbas Stanikzai, the Taliban's deputy foreign minister, also called Pakistan's treatment of Afghan immigrants "inappropriate" and said, "This situation is not acceptable." He called Pakistan's decision to deport Afghan refugees unilateral.
The Pakistani government has set November 1 as the deadline for all the immigrants living "illegally" to voluntarily leave the country; otherwise, they will face forced repatriation.
During a press conference in Islamabad on Tuesday, October 3, Pakistan's Interior Minister Sarfraz Bugti said that Afghans were involved in terrorist attacks in various areas of Pakistan.
He has emphasised that the property of illegal immigrants in this country will be confiscated after the deadline.
According to the Pakistani government, 4.4 million Afghans are currently living in Pakistan.