Sources consulted by the Research Directorate do not distinguish between refugees and second generation immigrants when referring to the Afghani population in Pakistan.

Reporting on police harassment of Afghan refugees, a May 2002 news article stated that an Afghan refugee just outside of Islamabad who had spent 18 years in Pakistan reportedly said, "'I have no complaint against the [Pakistani] people. They were kind ... But the police were terrible'" (GVNN 14 May 2002).

However, in 2001 and 2002, the United States (US) Department of State reported that Pakistani residents living in urban and semi-urban centres resented the "economic competition" brought to their communities by Afghan refugees living and working there, and "believe[d] that the [Afghan] refugees contribute[d] to high crime rates" (Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 2d; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 2d). Similar information was reported in 1999 and in 2000 by the US Department of State (Country Reports 1999 23 Feb. 2000, Sec. 2d; Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001, Sec. 2d).

The U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR) corroborated the U.S. Department of State's findings in its World Refugee Survey 2003, by stating the following:

During the late 1990s, as Pakistan's economy worsened and international financial support for the refugees dwindled, the authorities, the media, and the general public increasingly blamed refugees for Peshawar's and other cities' growing social ills, including crime, drug abuse, prostitution, and the widespread availability of weapons. Police harassment of urban refugees increased during this period (2003).

In August 2001, the New Zealand-based Christchurch Press stated that the Pakistani people "have now grown tired" of Afghanis in Pakistan and added that, "[w]ith unemployment high, Afghanis are often blamed for society's ills" (31 Aug. 2001). This view is reportedly encouraged by the police, who, in July 2001 released a report which stated that Islamabad has 100,000 Afghanis, "the majority [of whom are] involved in drug trafficking, gun-running, robbery, begging, and prostitution" (World Reporter 31 Aug. 2001). The report also recommended that all Afghanis be shifted out of Islamabad and confined to one area (ibid.).

In its 2001 report entitled Pakistan: Afghan Refugees Shunned and Scorned, the USCR stated that there are "increasingly negative attitudes towards Afghan refugees among local people and the media" (Sept. 2001, 4). Elaborating further, the report added that

Many Pakistani people, the local media, and, more recently, Pakistani government officials, blame Afghan refugees living in the cities (both those who migrated from the camps and those who never lived in camps) for many of the social and economic woes plaguing Pakistan's cities (USCR Sept. 2001, 19).

The USCR report quotes Muhammad Haroon Shaukat, a director general in the Pakistan Ministry of Foreign Affairs, as complaining that Afghan refugees have "'caused social problems, including an increase in crime, drug addiction and drug trafficking, and illegal trade. Local people say that the Afghans take their jobs and drive up real estate prices'" (Sept. 2001, 19). The Joint Secretary on refugees at the Pakistan Ministry of States and Frotier Regions (SAFRA), Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid, is also quoted as saying that

"Kalashnikovs and automatic weapons were introduced into Pakistan because of the [Afghan] refugees. Drugs were introduced because of them. And, I am extremely sorry to say this, but a great deal of prostitution began. Refugees work for less, so they create unemployment for local people" (USCR Sept. 2001, 19).

In September 1999, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on violence against women visited Pakistan and Afghanistan and found that there was a "rise in violence against Afghan women, including domestic violence, honor killings, and trafficking of Afghan refugee women in Pakistan" (HRW 2001). She also noted that

individuals working on the plight of Afghans, including members of Afghan [non-governmental organizations], the majority of which had moved to Pakistan, continued to receive death threats, were subject to harassment, and often lacked protection from local authorities (ibid., 216).

According to the USCR, in late 2000, "Pakistan's tolerance for Afghan refugees [came] to an end" (Sept. 2001, 27) and in June 2001, "many Afghan refugees were 'living in a state of fear'" because "'the police [had] been given carte blanche to arrest and detain people randomly in the street'" (USCR Sept. 2001, 29). For more detailed information on the treatment of Afghans living in Pakistani urban centres, please see the attached excerpt from Pakistan: Afghan Refugees Shunned and Scorned by USCR.

Information on whether it is possible for school-aged children of Afghani immigrants living in Pakistan's urban centres, particularly in Islamabad, to speak only Pashto could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within time constraints; however, in their 1999, 2000, 2001 and 2002 country reports, the US Department of State indicated that Afghan girls and women in Pakistan, are educated by non-governmental organizations (NGO's) (Country Reports 1999 23 Feb. 2000, Sec. 2d; Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001, Sec. 2d; Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 2d; Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 2d). In its 2000 and 2001 reports, the US Department of State added that the Pakistan government had "closed some Afghan schools" (Country Reports 2000 23 Feb. 2001, Sec. 2d; Country Reports 2001 4 Mar. 2002, Sec. 2d).

According to the Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF), "a national alliance of provincial and territorial organizations ... representing more than 240,000 elementary and secondary school teachers across Canada" that engages in international cooperation programme, children of Afghan refugees attend refugee camp schools or urban refugee schools (CTF 2002). The CTF went on to say that

Of the 700,000 Afghan school-aged refugees, 350,000 remain in the refugee camps and 350,000 are urban refugee school children. There are over 700 Afghan primary and secondary urban refugee schools in Pakistan outside the camps.

One type of urban refugee school is the 'self-help' school, which is provided by Afghan refugees themselves (ibid.).

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Canadian Teachers' Federation (CTF). 2002. "'Toonies for Teachers': World Teachers' Day 2002." http://www.ctf-fce.ca/bilingual/WTD/2002/Toonies-english.pdf [Accessed 25 Aug. 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. 31 March 2003. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18314.htm [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001. 4 March 2002. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2001/sa/8237.htm [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000. 23 February 2001. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/sa/710.htm [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999. 23 February 2000. United States Department of State. Washington, DC. http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/1999/441.htm [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

Globalvision News Network. 14 May 2002. "Afghan Refugees Complain of Police Harassment." http://www.gvnews.net/html/DailyNews/alert1042.html [Accessed 5 Aug. 2003]

Human Rights Watch (HRW). 2001. Human Rights Watch World Report 2001. http://www.hrw.org/wr2k1/print/full/asia.pdf [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

U.S. Committee for Refugees (USCR). 2003. "Pakistan." World Refugee Survey 2003. http://www.refugees.org/world/countryrpt/scasia/2003/pakistan.cfm [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

_____. September 2001. Hiram A. Ruiz. Pakistan: Afghan Refugees Shunned and Scorned. Edited by Bill Frelick and Margaret Emery. http://www.ecoi.net/docPipe.php?file=pub/dh2039_02101afgh.pdf [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

Christchurch Press. 31 August 2001. Mike White. "Taleban Terror Blights Young Eyes." (Dialog)

Additional Sources Consulted

IRB Databases

Dialog/WNC

Internet sites, including:

Amnesty International

BBC

Dawn

European Country of Origin Information Networks

Freedom House

Integrated Regional Information Network (IRIN)

Middle East Times

PakTribune

United Kingdom, Immigration and Nationality Directorate

United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR)

Search engine:

Google

Attachment

U.S. Committee for Refugees. September 2001. Hiram A. Ruiz. Pakistan: Afghan Refugees Shunned and Scorned. Edited by Bill Frelick and Margaret Emery. Pp. 27-30. http://www.ecoi.net/docPipe.php?file=pub/dh2039_02101afgh.pdf [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003] Electronic Attachment

U.S. Committee for Refugees. September 2001. Hiram A. Ruiz. Pakistan: Afghan Refugees Shunned and Scorned. Edited by Bill Frelick and Margaret Emery. Pp. 27-30. http://www.ecoi.net/docPipe.php?file=pub/dh2039_02101afgh.pdf [Accessed 6 Aug. 2003]

VII. URBAN REFUGEES HARASSED, FORCIBLY RETURNED

The first refugees to feel the effects of Pakistan's shifting attitude towards Afghans were the many refugees living in urban centers. Many migrated to the cities from the refugee camps over the course of the past two decades, particularly after 1995, when general food distribution ended in the camps. Among these are many young adults who grew up in the camps and saw no future there. Some moved to the cities in search of work, others to further their education.

Some refugees settled in the cities when they first arrived in Pakistan. Among this group are many professionals and other educated Afghans, members of ethnic minorities, and single or widowed women and their families who fled Kabul after the fall of the Najibullah regime in 1992 or after the Taliban's takeover of Kabul in 1996.

Estimates of the number of Afghan refugees living in Pakistan's cities vary significantly. As of mid-September 2001, UNHCR estimated their number to be approximately 800,000, although there could be many more. Most live in Peshawar and Karachi, cities with larger Afghan populations than most cities in Afghanistan, while Quetta, Islamabad, Rawalpindi, Lahore, and other Pakistani cities also host tens of thousands of Afghans.

Pakistan has never wanted large numbers of Afghans in its cities. When Afghan refugees began arriving in 1978, the Pakistani government barred UNHCR from registering or assisting refugees in the urban centers. However, urban refugees technically benefited from the same prima facie refugee status that Pakistan accorded all Afghans on humanitarian (not UN refugee convention) grounds.

Throughout the 1980s and early 1990s, the Pakistani authorities (both national and NWFP) generally ignored the Afghan refugees in the cities. Substantial amounts of international assistance flowed into the country for refugees; Afghan mujahideen enjoyed international and Pakistani support; many urban refugees were opening small businesses that helped boost the economy, particularly in Peshawar, and others provided cheap labor for Pakistani businesses.

After food aid to most camp residents ended in 1995, the number of refugees migrating to the cities increased (at about the same time, new refugees from Kabul-many of whom were urban professionals-entered Pakistan and also settled in the cities). Employment became more scarce, local people's wages were driven down by the overabundance of cheap labor, and rents went up as competition for housing rose.

During the late 1990s, the Pakistani authorities became much more concerned about the number of refugees in the cities. Public support for the refugees also began to wane. The authorities, the media, and the general public increasingly blamed refugees for Peshawar's and other cities' growing social ills, including crime, the widespread availability of weapons, drug abuse, prostitution, and the decline in the Pakistani economy.

Once the Taliban gained control of Kabul in 1996, the Pakistani authorities began to encourage the refugees to go home, saying that most of Afghanistan was now safe. The government also began to argue that newly arrived Afghans were not refugees but economic migrants.

Police harassment of urban refugees increased during this period. Police stopped refugees and threatened to deport those without documentation. However, the refugees could generally avoid deportation or detention by paying small bribes. During periods of domestic political tension, the Pakistani authorities rounded up groups of Afghan men, but generally released them after a few days.

Urban refugees' problems increased substantially in late 2000 in the wake of the new refugee influx that brought Pakistan's tolerance for Afghan refugees to an end. The police stepped up their harassment, extortion, detention, and refoulement (forcible return) of urban refugees, particularly in Peshawar. In November, Pakistan officially closed its border with Afghanistan and began denying entry to Afghans unless they had a current Afghan passport and valid Pakistani visa, effectively barring most from entering. At the same time, the authorities began to insist that Afghan refugees living in urban centers also present these documents or face deportation.

While some Afghan refugees can afford to go to the Taliban's representatives in Pakistan and obtain a new passport for the equivalent of $100, most cannot. Others are afraid to do so. Many have turned to purchasing fake passports, which are readily available in the cities.

In early 2001, the government of NWFP, with the acquiescence of the national government, embarked on a policy of mass refoulement. On January 23, 2001, the governor of NWFP issued an order authorizing the police to detain and deport any Afghan not holding a valid Afghan passport and Pakistani visa, including both new arrivals and old refugees. The governor reportedly instructed each police station in Peshawar to deport a minimum of five to ten Afghan men daily.

That initiated what a recent, UN-commissioned study on the forcible return of Afghan refugees called a period of "mass harassment in cities and officially sanctioned forcible return to Afghanistan in a systematic manner." According to government statistics, the authorities rounded up and forcibly returned some 1,200 Afghan men (they did not detain or deport women) from Peshawar between October 2000 and mid-May 2001, most presumably after the January 23, 2001 edict. Other sources said that Pakistani authorities forcibly returned a much higher number. A March 22 report by IRIN said, "Media reports from Peshawar...have indicated that some 10,000 Afghans without formal documents were sent back [solely] in February."

The study found that the mass deportations are "causing panic and alarm amongst the [Afghan refugee] community." The authorities do not give men they detain and forcibly return an opportunity to notify their families. The study found that "many are also subject to beatings while in detention."

The study added, "The government's public endorsement of mass detention has given license for police corruption." For every man whom the authorities deport, authorities reportedly stop or detain a number of others and demand bribes in exchange for not deporting them. Before the mass refoulement, police in Peshawar accepted bribes of only 10 to 20 rupees ($.16 to $.32). However, they now demand bribes of 200 to 300 rupees ($3 to $5).

Deportees are usually able to get back into Pakistan within hours or days of their deportation (although some have been detained by the Taliban), but must bribe border guards or pay smugglers to take them around the border posts. Consequently, many male refugees from Peshawar, especially those too poor to pay the bribes police demand, are afraid to leave their homes, even to go to their jobs. Many have lost their jobs, and their wives have had to find ways to support their families.

The chairman of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan, Afrasiyab Khattak, criticized the government's policy of harassing and deporting urban refugees as well as UNHCR's "passive" response. He told IRIN that the forced returns were illegal: "The police are arbitrarily deporting these people without any legal process.... These deportations are against Pakistani law." He added, "UNHCR is supposed to protect people from forced deportations...[but] is also particularly passive in this regard."96 Khattak also expressed concern that the forced returns "could result in serious harm" to individuals forced back to Afghanistan.

Khattak's concern that UNHCR did not protest the deportations strongly enough to the government was shared by two UN officials and a number of refugees whom USCR met. One UN official said, "The government [of Pakistan] has been deporting refugees, yet UNHCR has not registered any formal protests, nor has it asked donors to register protests." An official of another UN agency added, "Increasingly, refugees have less and less confidence in UNHCR to protect them. They don't expect anything from UNHCR." A refugee living in Islamabad told USCR, "UNHCR has not cared much about the refugees. It has not protected our rights. There is a lawyer who takes information about cases [of police harassment], but they [UNHCR] don't respond."

UNHCR disagrees, noting that when the government began to forcibly return Afghans, UNHCR proposed the concept of screening in order to ensure that Afghans who had reason to fear for their security would not be forcibly returned. According to UNHCR, it was only afterwards that discussions with the government about screening turned toward the new arrivals at Jalozai and then other groups, such as those at Shamshatoo or Nasir Bagh.

USCR visited several urban Afghan refugees in Peshawar who have been affected by the mass deportations. One woman, a widow with four children, said that her fifteen-year-old son had been arrested and deported twice between March and June 2001. Her son was able to return both times. Despite his fear of being forcibly returned again, he continues to work selling fruits and vegetables door to door because the family depends on his income.

Another refugee, who works as a guard and lives with his wife and three children in a small room behind the office he guards, said that he rarely leaves his home unless necessary. Although he has not been deported, he has been detained three times. Each time he was set free after international staff who work at the office he guards intervened on his behalf.

Local police in Islamabad and other cities in Pakistan, emboldened by the NWFP governor's mass refoulement campaign, have also expanded their harassment of Afghan refugees to new levels. Stopping Afghans on the street, once an occasional occurrence, became a regular practice that affected dozens if not hundreds of refugees daily. Refugees in Islamabad told USCR that the police often confiscate or destroy their old identification documents, telling them that they are worthless because all Afghans must now have an Afghan passport and a Pakistani visa.

The refugees said that the police in Islamabad no longer demand bribes of hundreds of rupees (several dollars) but of many times that amount. Those who cannot pay are officially charged as illegal aliens under the Foreigners Act of 1946 (amended in 1999). Most spend weeks or months in prison, usually until their families can raise the amount of money required to pay all of the bribes needed to secure the refugee's release. Few ever make it to a court hearing; those who do are invariably deported.

One of the refugees with whom USCR met in Islamabad said he was arrested in late 2000. The police put him in their car and drove toward the police station. On the way, however, the police said that they would let him go if he paid 5,000 rupees (about $80). When he could not pay, they detained him overnight and took him to the court the next day, where he was charged with being in Pakistan illegally.

The refugee said he spent three months in prison while his family and friends raised the 5,000 rupees ($80) it took to pay for a lawyer to help him, as well as the 25,000 rupees ($400) required to bribe various police and court officials to withdraw the charges and get him released. He said that there were as many as 500 Afghans in detention at the prison on any given day.

In June, a UNHCR spokesperson said that many Afghan refugees were "living in a state of fear," and noted that "the police have been given carte blanche to arrest and detain people randomly in the street."

Abuse Leads to Death

On June 15, Pakistani police stopped a group of four Afghans-two men and two women-who had just arrived from Peshawar by bus. They ushered the men and women into separate cars and asked the men, Salahoddin Samadi and his brother, for the equivalent of $150 to set them free. When Samadi said that they did not have the money, one of the police officers reportedly hit him over the head with a bottle. Samadi was taken to a hospital, where he went into a coma. He died eleven days later.

According to an IRIN news report, a senior official in the Islamabad police department said that the police officer involved had been dismissed, that charges had been brought against him, and that a full investigation of the incident would be launched. However, a refugee who was closely involved in helping the family press charges against the police officer who beat Samadi told USCR that the policeman in question had been set free and was once again on active duty.

On June 27, the day after Samadi's death, some 200 Afghan refugees demonstrated outside of the hospital and later at the offices of one of the UN agencies in Islamabad. In a petition addressed to the UN Human Rights Office in Islamabad, the group said, "We, all the Afghans, in protest of the continuous inhuman treatment of Afghan refugees by the Pakistan police, request your office, as well as all the other concerned agencies, to join us in putting an end to the harassment and torture of Afghan refugees."