Khaama Press Archives - Lokmarg

Over 3000 Migrants Return To Afghanistan From Turkey In Last 20 Days

By LokMarg 13th November 2023

Over 3,000 Afghans have been transported from Turkey to Kabul for deportation in the last 20 days, Afghan news agency, Khaama Press reported citing the head of the Ministry of Refugees’ Legal Support Directorate.

According to the source, among the 3,090 people deported by plane were seven families and seven children.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has provided monetary support to 3,083 of these persons, with a total aid of 36,996,000 Afghanis, reported Khaama Press.

Quoting sources, the Afghan news agency stated that 1,402 of them have gotten healthcare services from the same office, and 2,416 people have been added to the contact list.

Meanwhile, the Taliban-led Ministry of Refugees’ Affairs and the International Organisation for Migration’s joint receiving office at Kabul International Airport had been temporarily closed owing to the country’s government transition.

Recently, neighbouring countries including Iran, Pakistan, and Turkey have increased deportation operations in response to the country’s continued acute humanitarian crisis, which has been compounded by the Herat earthquake.

According to Khaama Press, over 6,000 Afghan migrants re-entered the nation in a single day, according to reports, via the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings. The Afghan Ministry of Refugees said on Sunday that by Saturday, November 11, a total of 6,101 Afghan migrants had returned through the Torkham and Spin Boldak crossings.

Many Afghans who arrived in Pakistan after the Taliban takeover in August 2021 had been encouraged to apply for resettlement programs in various countries, including the US, UK, Canada, and Germany, but have been left in a state of limbo with expired Pakistani visas and lengthy resettlement processes, making them vulnerable to detention and deportation. (ANI)

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Afghan Refugees Continue To Undergo Suffering, Mistreatment In Pakistan

By LokMarg 24th June 2023

The Afghan refugees who migrated to Pakistan after the Taliban took over fearing persecution are undergoing continuous suffering and an extremely “inhuman and hateful” mistreatment, the Khaama Press reported.

Ever since the Taliban seized power in Afghanistan in August 2021, Pakistan is one of the primary destinations where Afghan refugees have migrated in search of better conditions.
New waves of Afghan refugees moved to Iran and Pakistan due to several reasons including fear of death threats and persecution by Afghanistan’s de facto regime.

However, in Pakistan, the migrants have continued to suffer numerous challenges including arbitrary detentions, harassment, and imprisonment by Pakistani police, because of being unable to provide valid residential permits and visas.

Notably, Pakistani police and other relevant agencies have continued to detain and incarcerate Afghan refugees in different parts of the country, including the capital city of Islamabad, despite having refugees having United Nations Higher Commissioner for Refugee’s (UNHCR) certificate, the Khaama Press reported.

Maniza Kakar, an attorney of Afghan prisoners in Karachi earlier claimed that Pakistani police tore the residential documents of some Afghan nationals while they were arrested.

The alleged mistreatment of Afghan refugees by the Pakistani government has been labelled “inhuman and hateful”, leading to widespread criticism not just in Pakistan and Afghanistan, but beyond.

“In less than two years, I have been detained three times by the police – harassed, humiliated and bitten due to not having a valid residential permit. Life has become extremely difficult for me in Pakistan. Every time, I come across police, I keep running from one ally to another to avoid possible imprisonment and forceful deportation to Afghanistan,” the Khaama Press quoted an Afghan refugee.

Another Afghan refugee who has freshly moved to France said to Khaama Press that, “Pakistan does not offer you anything other than countless sufferings. He asked other immigrants to follow up on their immigration cases, otherwise, they will continuously face mistreatment, harassment and humiliation”.

Most Afghan refugees currently residing in Pakistan, are undergoing an extremely lengthy process, causing ambiguity and hopelessness

According to Amnesty, over 3.7 million Afghans who fled Afghanistan for political and economic reasons now reside in Pakistan. Moreover, only 1.4 million people have official registration.

Meanwhile, The Afghanistan Embassy in Islamabad also requested Pakistan to cease detaining Afghans earlier this month after 250 people were held for lack of travel documents by counterterrorism officials and other agencies, as per Khaama Press. (ANI)

Taliban Bans Use Of Pak Currency In Afghanistan

By LokMarg 3rd October 2022

In a significant escalation of ties between Afghanistan and Pakistan, the Taliban has banned the use of Pakistani rupees in Afghanistan.

The ban on the Pakistani currency came into effect on Saturday, October 1, Afghan news agency Khaama Press reported.
It said the Taliban Intelligence Agency declared that the use of Pakistani rupees in financial transactions in Afghanistan has been “completely banned.”

This order was conveyed by the Taliban agency’s anti-money laundering branch to the money exchange association. According to this order, all financial transactions, including but not limited to transfers, trade, and currency exchange, are disallowed.

The report said money exchange dealers are banned from conducting transactions totaling more than 500,000 rupees. If more than the specified amount is discovered, the dealers could face legal action.

The Khaama report said this move comes at a time when some locals and traders in Afghanistan use Pakistani Rupees for everyday spending and food purchases.

Since the Taliban seized power in August last year, the relationship between the two sides has soured for several reasons, including increasing border clashes and the re-emergence of outlawed Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) in Pakistan.

Recently, the Taliban had accused Pakistan of permitting its air space to be used by US drones to strike targets in the landlocked country.

Taliban claimed that Pakistan has received a whopping sum of money for allowing the US airstrikes in Afghanistan and added that they have substantial evidence to back their claims.

On July 31, the United States conducted a precision counterterrorism strike in Afghanistan that killed Ayman al-Zawahiri, Osama bin Laden’s deputy and successor as leader of Al-Qaeda.

Meanwhile, Pakistan has blamed the Taliban regime for the resumption of attacks by the TTP, which has aggravated the security situation in the country. Media reports said that the highest number of terror incidents in Pakistan in a single month this year was recorded in September. (ANI)