In the past few weeks, the mass expulsion of Afghan refugees from Pakistan has gotten a lot of attention. Human rights groups and well-known people have spoken out against how these displaced people are being treated.
Well-known people are also talking about the same thing. Iffat Umar posted a picture of an Afghan child leaving the country on her Instagram Story and wrote, “This is also really heartbreaking.” On her Instagram Story, comedian Faiza Saleem wrote, “There’s no end to cruelty.”
‘Why don’t the Afghan refugees show more gratitude?’
— Osman Khalid Butt 🇵🇸 (@aClockworkObi) November 2, 2023
Ans. pic.twitter.com/a0MAjyuc9e
In addition, Armeena Khan went to X to write a note about it. The star said on the site that used to be called Twitter, “It would be criminal of me not to talk about the 1.7 million Afghans whose homes are being torn down in Pakistan.” “This is disgusting!” How can we act like this? When I talk about Gaza, I can’t leave out the plight of the Afghan people. “This is really sad!” Also, the star shared an older tweet that said, “You either stand against unfairness, genocide, and displacement, or you don’t! If you choose who to help, you are just as bad as those who hurt others. Thanks a lot.”
Also, she shared an article by actor Osman Khalid Butt in which he asked, “Why don’t the Afghan refugees show more gratitude?” He answered the same question with screenshots from a story that showed how many Afghans have moved to Pakistan and are being turned down for citizenship even though the country claims to offer “unconditional birthright citizenship.”
Before, famous actor Sanam Saeed joined the chorus of people calling for kindness and care toward these refugees. On November 1, 2023, when all “illegal aliens” were supposed to leave Pakistan, she went on X to say what she thought and ask the government to change its mind.
It would be CRIMINAL of me not to talk about 1.7 million Afghans who are being displaced from Pakistan, their homes being bull dozed. This is absolutely vile! How can we treat them this way? I cannot talk about Gaza without talking about the plight of the Afghans. This is so sad…
— Armeena ✨ (@ArmeenaRK) November 2, 2023
In her post, Sanam said that forcing people to leave who are looking for safety will not solve Pakistan’s main problems. She said that this might look like an effort to take the blame off of the problems the country and its government are having. She also stressed how important it is to be more merciful in these hard times in the world. Her post brought up an important point in the discussion about the Afghan refugee situation in Pakistan.
“Sending back refugees who come to our country to find safety will not solve our main problems.” The problems that the government or the country as a whole are having seem to be getting pushed to other people. When things are bad in the world, we need to be kinder, she wrote on the Twitter site with a tag that was directed at the Pakistani government.
According to the New York Times, the Pakistani government sent out a deportation order that mostly targeted Afghan refugees. In the weeks before November 1, over 70,000 undocumented Afghans were sent back to their home country. The decision to deport has put a lot of stress on the 1.7 million Afghans who are living in Pakistan illegally. Afghan renters have been kicked out of their homes to avoid fines, and Afghan workers who don’t have proper documentation have been fired. Police have raided neighborhoods with a lot of Afghan people and arrested people who didn’t have the right papers.
Human rights groups have spoken out against Pakistan’s moves, saying they are worried that some Afghans could be persecuted in their own country because they have ties to people who are against the Taliban. Even though their policy has been criticized, Pakistani officials have stuck to it and set up removal centers across the country to hold and send back Afghan refugees.
