Time has come for return of Afghan refugees Says FM Qureshi
By Muhammad JuniadPublished On 04 Jan 2023
Pakistan has housed its Afghan brothers but now it is time for them to return, Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said.
His remarks come days after investigators discovered that an Afghan with Indian connections was behind a bomb blast attack in Lahore.
“Steps have been taken for the honorable return of Afghan refugees,”Terrorists are suspected to have entered Pakistan during the return of refugees.”
Pakistan became a safe haven for many Afghans in the long war that plagued the country for over a decade. However, the thinking in Islamabad is that now that the US troops withdrawal is about to wrap up, Afghans in Pakistan should return.
One of the problems was that the Pashtun do not recognise the Durand Line, and the Pakistan-Afghan border is porous. Over the last few years, Pakistan has been fencing off the border to try to control the unregulated movement of people. Pakistan has also been working on legislation against terror financing.
Qureshi spoke of the bomb blast that took place in Lahore on June 23. “The involvement of an Indian agency in the Lahore blast was not a new thing. The Pakistan government has already presented evidence of Indian terrorism to the United Nations,” he said.
“We expect the world will take note. It was our duty to inform the nation and international community of the facts.”
At a press conference earlier, National Security Advisor Moeed Yousuf had revealed that Pakistan has evidence of Indian involvement in the Johar Town blast. A man of Afghan-origin is in custody for fitting the vehicle with explosives. In the Lahore attack, at least three people, including a policeman, were killed and over 20 others were injured near the Jamaat-ud-Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed’s residence.
“When the situation of coronavirus was bad in India, Pakistan had offered help but India did not respond positively,” he went on to say. “India has given a bomb blast in response to an offer of dialogue.”
