Unforced errors
Good of Ch Nisar to finally place the Afghan refugee problem under the list of things that the government simply cannot avoid anymore. And even though the PM has given another six-month extension – though the Afghans, as usual, are asking for more time – the matter will finally be decided upon Nawaz’s return, which is just a few days away. Meanwhile we have had our share of needless controversies. The matter of repatriation was bound to generate that old knee-jerk reflex action from certain quarters; so rhetoric about the Durand Line, Pashtun solidarity, etc, was more or less factored in already.
Yet the Achakzai episode raises important questions. Surely nobody needs a lesson in history – of how KP passed from the Afghans to the Sikhs and eventually came to be included in Pakistan – and everybody must realise that these tactics will only sour ties; not help the refugees in any way. All that the Achakzai interview has achieved is make those advocating a quick return of refugees even more aggressive. And realistically speaking, there are few good options for any party here. The reluctance on part of the Afghan government as well as refugees in understandable. The country is a wreck and in no way able to absorb this flood.
Yet Pakistan has done more than its share. Voluntary repatriation could have been considered, but the refugees’ and Kabul’s procrastination itself ruled it out. And since Pakistan’s own economic and security compulsions just do now allow refugees anymore, there is only so much Islamabad can do beyond the latest deadline. The only realistic solution is for both governments to recognise the urgency of the matter and work together to rule out any more unnecessary disagreement. There is enough, already, on which Pakistan and Afghanistan do not see eye to eye.