No forced repatriation of Afghans, says Pakistan

Pakistan's Federal Minister for States and Frontier Regions Lt. General Abdul Qadir Baloch has dismissed as unfounded the fear among Afghan refugees that they will be forced to return to their country following the Peshawar school terror attack.

Speaking at a news conference along with Maya Ameratunga, acting representative of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), the minister made it clear that the registered Afghan refugees had never been found involved in terrorism-related incidents in the country and said they would not be repatriated against their will, Dawn online reported Wednesday.

"We are not going to push them forcibly. They will be sent back respectfully on a voluntary basis and according to the time-frame decided upon," he said, adding that the Afghan refugees were living peacefully in Pakistan for more than three decades and they respect the country's laws.

"We will continue to maintain our traditional hospitality," Baloch said.

"Pakistan has been a responsible state of the UN and is committed to honouring all international agreements signed by it," he added.

He said there were 1.5 million registered Afghan refugees in the country and the number of unregistered refugees was almost the same.

He urged the unregistered refugees to get themselves registered in view of the prevailing law and order situation in the country.

The UNHCR's acting representative said the unregistered Afghans did not enjoy any protected status in Pakistan and they were considered as illegal migrants and the Pakistan government had a sovereign right to take action against them.