Prime Minister Imran has vowed to give citizenship to thousands of Afghan refugees born in Pakistan.
Khan believes that the inability of previous governments to grant refugees citizenship is what forced them to resort to petty criminality and becoming a part of the labor black market. This development comes as a contrasted change to the earlier exclusionary policy adopted by the nation where the public has often demanded that the refugees return home. The rhetoric is simple. Afghan refugees allegedly put pressure on the country’s resources, which means those who are the ‘rightful citizens’ suffer from their presence. Khan’s premise is simple. “If you are born in America you get an American passport. It happens in all countries around the world so why not here?”, he asks.
Not surprisingly, Khan’s announcement has created a public ruckus of epic proportions. Here are some interesting reflections on the issue.
This astute observation:
Amazing how so many peoole can praise IK’s ‘offer of citizenship’ to people of Afghan & Bengali origin born in #Pakistan without mentioning that the country’s citizenship law already grants them that right! — Husain Haqqani (@husainhaqqani) September 17, 2018
A political move is it?
Pakistani PM @ImranKhanPTI says his country will grant citizenship to Pakistani-born refugees from Afghanistan and Bangladesh. An unsurprising move. This is Imran the Idealist. It’s a good move politically, too. New voters in Karachi and Balochistan will thank PTI. — Arif Rafiq (@ArifCRafiq) September 17, 2018
This rather difficult analysis to absorb.
Pakistani military establishment is very canter!They intend to issue citizenship to Afghans,So they can easily use them against Afghanistan. @ashrafghani should immediately work on this issue and prepare himself for bringing Afghan Refugees back to Afghanistan! @GMICafghanistan — Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (@PashtunTahafuz) September 17, 2018
Some food for thought below.
As much as the anti-Pak rant of EU/USA-settled Afghanis angers me,
I can’t help but feel sympathy for the ‘common Afghan’ refugees especially the Pak-born ones;
Majority of whom have to live a 2nd-class life in Pakistan (when here) as well as in Afghanistan (when repatriated) — خانہ بدوش (@Wuzgar) September 17, 2018
Does Afghan refugees getting citizenship deter or enhance national unity?
Imran khan’s decision of giving citizenship to Afghan Refugees is unwise because it comes at the cost of national integeration. Further, repatriation of refugees will enhance human capital for Afghanistan which is most imp type of resources for attaining economic development. — Shahjahan_Baloch (@SJzehri) September 17, 2018
Stability is, after all, a privilege!
Afghan refugees in Pakistan are faced with two types of prejudices. one is here, where they are still “outsiders”. While another is in Afghanistan, where they are a source of “shame” for many Afghans. In both cases, the ignorant hate mongers don’t realize their own privilege. — Imran Khan (@iopyne) September 17, 2018
What are your thoughts on the matter?
[socialpoll id=”2520016″] *Feature Image Source: Al Jazeera*