November 23, 2019: CODE PAKISTAN has published an analytical report titled \”Afghan Refugees in Pakistan: The Road Ahead.\” The report is a product of a yearlong research CODE PAKISTAN conducted on the subject. The findings of the report are based on an extensive literature review of national and international open-source information and some primary facts and figures.
The report asserts that while initially welcomed in Pakistan, the public and policy perception about Afghan refugees gradually changed from acceptability on humanitarian grounds to their denunciation as a threat to national security and an economic liability. Presenting some facts and figures the report suggests, however, that a Pakistani national is seven times more likely to be incarcerated for criminal activity than an Afghan refugee. Moreover, contrary to being an economic burden, Afghan refugees have been contributing to Pakistan’s economy in business sectors like the carpet industry, honeybee-keeping, fresh fruits, and operating heavy machinery, besides providing cheap labor for some other local industries.
The report features an extensive discussion on the legal status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and the need for the adoption of the national refugee legislation. It asserts that the first step to facilitate the process for streamlining of the economic activity of Afghan refugees to better benefit from its potential is to address the ambiguity in relation to their legal status. The report contends that from the legal discourse on Afghan refugees in Pakistan, it appears that Afghan refugees are singled out as different from refugees from other countries by the law and the courts of law in Pakistan, which is a contravention of the Constitution of Pakistan. Adoption of national refugee legislation is, perhaps, the best approach to address the legal confusion and challenges faced by Afghan refugees in lieu thereof. The draft legislation was developed by the Government of Pakistan in 2013 and had been shared with relevant stakeholders for review and comments. There is, however, a paucity of knowledge among some key decision-makers on refugee issues including the adoption of national refugee legislation.
The report maintains that since the current legal POR status of Afghan refugees in Pakistan presents challenges to Pakistan in terms of fully benefitting from their economic potential, there is a need to generate an informed policy level debate in parliament on the subject of Afghan refugees in Pakistan. Such a debate, covering not only the humanitarian angle to the refugee situation and the security aspect but also the economic contribution of Afghan refugees, would help in rationalizing the policy-level discourse on the subject as well as perceptions of the most relevant stakeholders, according to the report. This could lead to a conducive atmosphere for the adoption of the national refugee legislation, which is a pre-requisite for alleviating the situation of Afghan refugees in Pakistan and enabling the country to benefit from their economic potential.
Please click on the link below to access the full report:
https://codepak.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/Afghan-Refugees-The-Road-Ahead.pdf