ISLAMABAD: Speakers on Friday urged the caretaker government to carefully deal with the issue of repatriation of ‘illegal’ Afghan immigrants as their expulsion in haste would make them susceptible to radicalisation due to almost no opportunities of livelihood in neighbouring Afghanistan.

They warned that Pakistan needed a long-term political strategy and should revisit its entire Afghan policy led by an elected civilian setup otherwise the country might face the threat of another conflict.

Academics, politicians, retired military officers, journalists, religious scholars and experts on Afghan affairs from Pakistan and Afghanistan expressed these views at a consultation on ‘Afghan peace and reconciliation: Pakistan’s interests and policy options’.

The consultation was the 10th in a series of discussions organised by Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), an Islamabad-based research and advocacy think tank, on the Afghan peace process.

Former lawmaker and political activist Mohsin Dawar said the present caretaker government could not make a mechanism for smooth repatriation of ‘illegal’ Afghan immigrants. He warned that such people would serve as a “raw material for radicalisation and war” after returning to Afghanistan as the war-torn country was unable to provide livelihood to such a large number of people.

Associate Professor of International Relations at the National University of Modern Languages (Numl) Dr Rizwana Karim Abbasi said Pakistan’s repatriation policy would create a lot of mistrust between Islamabad and Kabul.

Former National Security Adviser retired Lt Gen Nasser Khan Janjua said the problem of the banned TTP was a remnant of the Afghan conflict.

“Unfortunately, Pakistan has no strategy to deal with an enemy that operates from another sovereign country,” he said.

Former defence secretary retired Lt Gen Naeem Khalid Lodhi argued that Pakistan should first set its own house in order. “We would have to strengthen our inner front,” he said.

Political analyst on regional affairs Afrasiab Khattak said Afghan Taliban could not bring peace in their own country because they were an armed militia. He said peace in Afghanistan was only linked to “national reconciliation”.

International Research Council for Religious Affairs (IRCRA) President Mohammad Israr Madani said Pakistan should have engaged with the civil society and international aid groups before taking the decision of expelling ‘illegal’ Afghan immigrants.

Former Deputy Speaker of the Lower House of Afghan Parliament Amanullah Paiman said Afghan Taliban would not compromise on their ideology as they were “inflexible”.

He suggested that Pakistan should look for other options to engage with Afghan people, expressing his concerns over women rights violations in Afghanistan and urging Pakistan to help them in this regard

Earlier, PIPS Director Mohammad Amir Rana, in his introductory remarks, said the purpose of the discussion was to review Pak-Afghan relations in the wake of the ongoing repatriation of ‘illegal’ immigrants and the recent upsurge in terrorism incidents in Pakistan.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2023