WORLD Refugee Day, observed today around the globe, marks 75 years since the adoption of the 1951 convention relating to the status of refugees. The UN is observing it with the ‘Until Everyone is Safe’ appeal, hoping to keep alive a promise made under the convention “that people forced to flee should not be returned to danger, and should be able to live in dignity while displaced”. The UN notes that more than 117m people today have been driven from their homes, “including families uprooted by war in the Sudan, violence in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and prolonged crises in Ukraine, Afghanistan, the Syrian Arab Republic, Myanmar and beyond”. The global rights watchdog has appealed for their protection, noting the stark costs of insecurity, which include years of learning lost for children, risks for women and girls, pressure on family structures and upheaval in host communities that are left to handle the situation on their own.

Pakistan, of course, is no stranger to the plight of refugees, having hosted one of the largest populations of displaced civilians in recent history. However, Islamabad’s relationship with Afghan refugees, once rooted in religious and cultural principles and widely celebrated as an example of ‘brotherliness’, has soured in recent years. Pakistan is understandably exhausted. Other nations that had promised to repatriate stranded Afghans following the departure of US and other forces from Afghanistan have been slow to act. Given the enormity of the challenges this country faces, it cannot shoulder this responsibility alone. However, hundreds of thousands of refugees cannot be forced to return without being offered any say in that decision. Islamabad must act with patience and allow for repatriation in a phased and humane manner. Its policies must not result in a ‘double displacement’ of the refugee population. Pakistan has much to be proud of when it comes to the large-heartedness of its people. This is not how this chapter should end.

Published in Dawn, June 20th, 2026