IMMIGRATION

POLICY OF
PAKISTAN

(In context of
Afghanistan)

Fakhar Alam, M.Usama Khalid,

Ayesha Chaudhary, Ruedad
Haider
 Report
“Pakistan’s Immigration Policy”
(In Context of Afghanistan)

Presented to: Mr. Hassan Saeed

Presented by: Group # 5
Course Title: Public Policy
Class: BS - SS (3rd)
National Defence University Pakistan
 Pakistan’s Immigration Policy
(In context of Afghanistan)

Content

S.no Topics
1 Introduction
2 Historical Background
3 Discussion
4 Facts &Figures
5 Way Forwards
6 Analysis & conclusion
Introduction
Pakistan is legitimate sovereign state that is governed by the laws and rules. Similarly, entry into
Pakistan is overlooked by the passport rules 1955. To enter into Pakistan a visa is generally
required. Foreigners enter the country must register themselves with police within 24 hours. If
their visa is expired, they had to obtain permission of police department. Foreigners coming to
Pakistan for work need approval by Investment Promotion Bureau of Ministry of Industries 1.

Historical Background
In late 1970s and early 1980s, former Soviet Union invaded the Afghanistan, and after invasion
fierce fighting was started between the indigenous mujahideen and Soviet forces. This chaotic
situation forced the afghan nationals to abandon their homeland and migrate for save heaven in
the neighboring countries such as Iran and Pakistan. As a result, at least one million Afghans
entered in Pakistan as refugees. However, in 1999 when Taliban completely took over the
Afghanistan, the political and security situation of Afghanistan once again deteriorated and
eventually more than 30,000 new Afghan refugees entered into Pakistan mostly were ethnic
Hazaras. Since 1979 till date, there have been almost 1.4 million registered2 and 3 million
unregistered Afghan refugees living in Pakistan.

Discussion
Starting the discussion with polices Pakistan is neither signatory of 1951 convention nor part of
1967 protocol that helps in dealing with refuges. A triparty agreement was signed by Pakistan,
Afghanistan and UNHCR (United Nations High Commission for Refugees) in 2009. Terms and
conditions of this agreement were clearly stating that the stay of Afghan Refugees was temporary
and there will be regular and gradual remigration of Afghan Refugees to their homeland but date
of full withdrawal of refuges has been extended many times.
Once settled in Pakistan afghan refugees have been able to find work and earn. While, many
have attained Pakistani citizenship through illegal means, others have continued to live in
Pakistan without any form of discrimination. Unlike Iran, which restricted the movement of
refugees to camps and prevented them from indulging in politics, Afghan refugees in Pakistan
have like all Pakistani nationals, been given access to education, health and the right to work.
Pakistan provided them with a higher quality of life than in Afghanistan. Even after more than
three decades, the same holds true3.
However, at the time afghan refugees came into Pakistan, there was not a clear-cut policy out
there for managing that huge bulge of refugees. Whereas, later through illegal means these
refugees acquired the citizenship status and get involved in different social, political and

1
“What is the Pakistani law of emigration and immigration”, Josh and Mak International Legal Advice;
https://joshandmakinternational.com/frequently-asked-questions/what-is-the-pakistani-law-of-emigration-and-
immigration/
2
“Pakistan”, UNHCR The UN Refugee Agency; https://www.unhcr.org/pakistan.html
3
Muhammad Abbas Khan, “Pakistan’s national refugee policy”, Forced Migration Review;
https://www.fmreview.org/afghanistan/khan.
economic activities around Pakistan. While many of them got married here and according to the
Pakistan Citizenship Act 1952, foreign lady married to Pakistani national would be eligible to get
Pakistani nationality4. Similarly, children who are born here, would also be given the nationality
according to the same Pakistan Citizenship Act of 1952 5, and in September 2018 PM Imran
Khan also stated that Afghans whose children have been raised and born in Pakistan will be
granted citizenship as this is the established practice in countries around the world 6.
Pakistan also soon recognize that without education these refuges will stand in the way of
achieving successful results. Not only for the refugees which stay here in host communities, but
also for those who went back to their homeland. More than 50 percent of refugees are between
ages of 16-22 years. Without education and skillful training, they would have been a weight on
economy. So, Pakistan in collaboration with Rural Development in the Refugee Affected and
Hosting Areas (RAHA) started schools with better and trained teachers for refugees 7.
In 2013 Pakistan's Government incremented new policy regarding afghan refugees and the focus
was aiding and providing assistance to those communities inside Pakistan which are hosting
these refugees and safely return of these refugees to Afghanistan. UNHCR provided education to
96000 refugees children's in Pakistan.
But due to decline in donor assistance, domestic constraints, weak economy, refugee bulge and
growing threat of terrorism, refugees have become a major concern for Pakistan. Especially after
the horrific attack on the Army Public School (APS), Peshawar on December 16, 2014 further
pushed the policy makers to initiate the honorable process of repatriation for all Afghan refugees
residing in Pakistan. For which tri-party agreement that was signed in 2013 among Pakistan,
Afghanistan and UNHCR, enacted with strong commitment, but by the recommendation of
UNHCR, Pakistan's Government extended Triparty agreement till 2015 and allowed refugees
stay in Pakistan till 2015. UNHCR also facilitated Pakistan in drafting refugee law and giving
money to refugees on their return8.

Key Facts, Figures and Statistics

Pakistan is considered one of the world’s largest overlong refugee population which is more than
5 million Afghan refugees living in different regions of Pakistan 9. However, since 2002, 3.8
million refugees were returned to Afghanistan but still there are over 3 million registered and
unregistered refugees are living in Pakistan. According to a report 1.6 million registered and

4
Grant of Citizenship, “Directorate General of Immigration & Passport”;
http://www.dgip.gov.pk/files/immigration.aspx
5
Ibid.
6
Yaseen Aftab Ali, “The Afghan Refugees in Pakistan”, Pakistan Today, September24, 2018;
https://www.pakistantoday.com.pk/2018/09/24/the-afghan-refugees-in-pakistan/
7
Ibid.
8
Amina Khan, “Afghan Refugees in Pakistan” Institute of Strategic Studies (2017): p 2.
9
Amina Khan, “Afghan Refugees In Pakistan” March 14, 2017
estimated 1 million refugees are still residing inside Pakistan 10. Which is a huge population and
remained a challenge for the government to accommodate the quality of life within the limited
resources, refugees become a major issue of concern for Pakistan. Further, after the APS attack a
crackdown started against the unregistered Afghan refugees though there was no involvement of
refugees in attack but the planning of attack was made in Afghanistan.
Moreover, from 2014 to September 2016, 10549 cases were in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and out
which 134 Afghan refugees were involved and subsequently 23007 person are arrested for
charge of crimes and out of which 300 were refugees 11, from these statistics it became clear the
only 1.3 percent12 are involved in different crimes. In addition, due to the poor border
management 40,000 to 60,000 people cross the border due to which clashes took places between
Islamabad and Kabul13 now Pakistan started fencing the borders to lessen the number of illegal
crossings in border. Many of the refugees have fake CNICs in Balochistan due to which the state
of Pakistan blocked more than 100,000 CNICs since 2015. In July 2016 the Afghan government
tried to encourage the Afghan refugees to go back to their country and play their role in peace
making, but failed to convinced 14 Some Afghan refugees has also played a positive role in the
economic development of Pakistan and share their part by their businesses. For example, the
business of gemstones in Peshawar run by Afghan refugees which contribute $27.562 million in
terms of foreign exchanges in the last five years 15.
Furthermore, 12,162 Afghan refugees repatriated to their country Afghanistan and 83,328 IDP
individuals (13,888 families) also returned to their homes since 1 January 2018. On 16
September 2018 the Prime Minister of Pakistan announced that under the Pakistani laws the
citizenship would be given to the refugees who were born in the country16.

Policy Recommendations
Some policy recommendations have been advised by experts for countering the issue of afghan
refugees:
 The endless process of repatriation deadlines should cease, instead authorities should
chalk out a comprehensive policy and effective strategy in that regard.
 Due to the complex nature of the issue, simplistic solutions would not be workable
because this issue is multi-faceted and has got strategic, humanitarian, social, cultural and
political factor attached to it.
 Strong coordination among government agencies, international organizations and other
stakeholders, is required for calculating the correct data, in order to understand the
complex nature of the issue.
10
Muhammad Abbas Khan, “Pakistan’s national refugee policy”
11
Amina Khan, “Afghan Refugees in Pakistan” March 14, 2017
12
Ibid.
13
Ibid.
14
Ibid.
15
Ibid.
16
“UNHCR Pakistan Factsheet – September 2018”, Published on 30 Sep 2018,
https://reliefweb.int/report/pakistan/unhcr-pakistan-factsheet-september-2018
  Afghan nationals living in Pakistan should be divided into sections and categorized to
facilitate repatriation, regularization and dual citizenship.
 Keeping in view the dignity of the refugees, repatriation should be phased and
implemented accordingly on the basis of proof of stay, weaknesses of the refugee’s
population and the situation in the places of returning region.
 A special visa status can be issued to Afghans who businesses here in Pakistan.
 First these refugees known as war migrants, but in the last few year’s businesses here
they became economic migrant and this fact cannot be ignored, and Pakistan can create
avenues that would increase Afghan stakes in commercial activities in Pakistan which
eventually bring bilateral and long-term benefits through investment and taxation.
 Being given the deadline, unregistered afghan refugees should be facilitated to register
themselves. Otherwise they would be deported or forced to register as refugees after a
brief detention.

Conclusion
Under the burden of Afghan refugees for the last forty years Pakistan now has to formulate a
strong national immigration and refugee policy for stable future. Though Afghan refugees have
contributed positively in the economy and social development of Pakistan, but they are certain
elements among them who have been involved in different suspicious activities that have
challenged the national security of Pakistan and became a potential threat for the state.
Therefore, after the rampage of APS Peshawar in December 2014, the 20 points National Action
Plan (NAP) was devised, in which the major focus was Afghan refugees. Afterward, the
voluntary repatriation process was initiated by the government of Pakistan through which the
Afghan refugees were sent to their home country with respect and dignity.
However, due to the weak check and balance mechanism these refugees in the past have not been
registered in Pakistan but in the recent years the registration process of unregistered Afghan
refugees has started and they are issued Proof of Registration (PoR) cards for the temporary legal
stay in Pakistan. Furthermore, the issue of the border management between Afghanistan and
Pakistan has become a challenge for the law and enforcement agencies in controlling huge
amount of illegal human trafficking that had also contributed a lot in increasing number of
refugees. Eventually because of the refugee crisis Pakistan has suffered socially, economically,
and politically in the world, but the current government of Pakistan under the leadership of Imran
Khan has vowed to utilized the bulge of Afghan youth who are born here, by giving them the
nationality of Pakistan so that they would contribute in the development of Pakistan in future.