1.7 Million Muslims Become New Refugees / 1.7 Juta Orang Islam Jadi Pelarian Baru

 I received the following article from Mr Rajindar Singh Bedi, a long time reader of my Blog. Thank you.

The following is a brief version of the article written by Prof Pervez Hoodbhoy, the well known nuclear physicist and political commentator from Pakistan.

 

https://www.dawn.com/news/1790340/scapegoating-the-refugee

Scapegoating the refugee
Pervez Hoodbhoy  
Published November 18, 2023

HERDED like cattle, over 1,700,000 Muslim refugees — more than twice the number of Palestinians evicted in 1948 by Zionist Israel — are presently being expelled from the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. A compliant caretaker government wants all undocumented Afghans booted out of the country.

Taking this a step further, even those Afghans with legal documents would be expelled.

Once these unfortunates cross the Torkham border, hell awaits them. 

Large numbers have never visited, much less known, the famine-stricken land to which they allegedly belong. 

Hundreds of thousands were born on Pakistani soil but could never acquire documents.
Pakistani authorities gave 30 days to sell off possessions acquired over a lifetime
decreed that only Rs50,000 per family could be carried in cash
and forbade evictees from taking along their livestock. 
Who could be more heartless? Zionists?

The story of loss and displacement doesn’t end here. After enduring extortion by Pakistani border guards, they will enter a country run by a primitive, murderous and misogynist militia that hates all forms of modernity except its guns. No girl may go to school, no woman may work, music and art are forbidden, limb-chopping and stoning to death are back in vogue.

In 1996, Pakistan was the first of three countries to recognise the Taliban as Afghanistan’s lawful government. They committed hideous crimes but Pakistan’s high-placed duffers carefully explained away their savagery. For decades Pakistan remained the Taliban’s chief champion and loudspeaker to the world.

Failure of Pakistan’s strategic depth doctrine is why Afghan refugees are being victimised.

When the Ashraf Ghani government fell in 2021, there was glee all around. Then-ISI chief Gen Faiz Hameed preened before television cameras in Kabul as though celebrating his personal victory, while then-PM Imran Khan famously proclaimed Afghans had “broken the shackles of slavery”.

Things have changed dramatically since then and we know exactly why. After a victory, the force of fanaticism does not diminish — it grows. Backed by the government in Kabul, TTP now savagely attacks Pakistan’s army and police almost daily.

Worried Pakistani rulers tried persuading Afghanistan’s rulers to denounce these terrorist acts but met a brick wall. Why expect otherwise? Both the TTP and Afghan Taliban carry the same mindset and have the same goals.

Although many Afghans fled to Pakistan after the 2021 Taliban victory, they are now being falsely accused of providing TTP terrorists a base. In fact the TTP was born in Swat under the nose of our security forces. Had there been a will, Maulana Fazlullah — aka Mullah Radio — could have been instantly neutralised in 2006-2007.

To cover up the establishment’s past incompetence and complicity, hapless refugees are now being scapegoated. They are victims of Pakistan’s bungled foreign policy and its delusionary pursuit of strategic depth. The days of dollar-fuelled ‘jihad’ being over, these penniless people are no longer useful as cannon fodder. Rich Afghans, of course, may stay.

The author is an Islamabad-based physicist and writer.

Published in Dawn, November 18th, 2023

 

My Comments : 

So what is new here? There is nothing new. 1.7 million Afghan refugees inside Pakistan, many of whom were born and raised in Pakistan, are being kicked out by the Pakistani government.

Various reasons are being provided - not all of which are incorrect. But it does not mean that they are right. Pakistan is now suffering increasing terrorist attacks from the Pashtun speaking people. Most of the Pashtun  terrorists belong to the TTP or Tehreeke Taliban Pakistan (Tarikat Taliban Pakistan). And the TTP is fully supported by the Afghan Taliban.

When Pakistan complains to the Afghans about their supporting the TTP commit acts of terrorism inside Pakistan the Afghans shrug their shoulders and say 'We dont know. These are your people. They live inside your country'.  

There are 41 million Pashtun citizens of Pakistan. Compared to only 19 million Pashtuns living in Afghanistan. 19 million Pashtuns in Afghanistan have their own country whereas 41 million Pashtuns living along the border inside Pakistan just do not.  The 60 million Pashtuns want to get together and live as one country. Do you see the problem?

But there is also another reason. When the Americans occupied Afghanistan plenty of American US Dollars flowed into Pakistan - billions of US Dollars - partly as "aid" for the Afghan Pashtun refugees living inside Pakistan. 

Little or none of that money reached the Afghan Pashtuns. The money went into the pockets of the Pakistani generals and the politicians. The Afghan refugees were a major ATM for the Pakistani generals.

Now since the Americans got kicked out of Afghanistan on Sunday August 15th 2021 the American aid money has disappeared.  So the Afghan refugees are no more a source of money for Pakistan. So out you go.

1.7 million Afghan refugees have been given 30 days to get out. There will be shooting. Those who do not get out in time may get shot.

The Afghan refugees are not allowed to carry more than 50,000 Pakistani Rupees each. What does this mean? It means Pakistani soldiers will confiscate any surplus cash. What will really happen is the Afghan refugees will be stripped clean of all their cash and valuables. 

They also have to leave behind their cows, goats, camels, donkeys and horses. This is the ultimate robbery and insult. The Afghan refugees have to walk back to Afghanistan with only the clothes on their backs.

So here is the million dollar question - does the Islamic world care? 
Hello Mr Muslim reader, do you care? 

Does it bother you at all that 1.7 million of your fellow Muslims are being stripped bare of all their wealth and forced to walk back to a country from which they had escaped with their lives?

Or is your attitude one of "Who cares?" 
What will the Oh I See say? 
Will they say 'Oh I See'?

Its just another day.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of MMKtT