Pakhtuns be not harassed during action against illegal Afghan nationals, says Aimal

The Pakhtuns should not be harassed during any action against illegal Afghan refugees. Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Awami National Party (ANP) President Aimal Wali Khan said this as he spoke at an event at the Arts Council of Pakistan on Saturday in connection with Pakhtun Culture Day. He said the Pakhtuns of Karachi had proved that Karachi was the largest city of Pakhtuns in the world.

Those who were telling the public that the ideology of Bacha Khan had become irrelevant had received an answer with the celebrations of Pakhtun Culture Day, he added.

He said Pashtuns had been living in Karachi peacefully and they had played a significant role in uplifting the country’s economy.

However, he lamented, some elements had been harassing Pashtuns in Karachi in the name of Afghan immigrants. Aimal said such an attitude was unacceptable as the Pashtuns were also one of the stakeholders of Karachi.

He said the Pashtun community had been contributing to the city’s economy and no one had the right to harass them. The ANP leader said Afghan immigrants were living in Pakistan according to the United Nations Charter and for the last 40 years, the state had been getting money from all over the world in the name of the Afghan immigrants. He called for stopping the humiliation of Afghan immigrants in Pakistan.

He, however, clarified that anyone who did not respect Pakistan's laws, regardless of their ethnicity, should face legal action and those who had been illegally residing in the country should be expelled.