Asfandyar supports granting of citizenship to Afghan refugees

PESHAWAR: Supporting the proposal to grant citizenship to Afghan refugees, Awami National Party (ANP) head Asfandyar Wali Khan on Monday said his party would give surety that Afghans would have no effect on the rights of other ethnic groups in Pakistan.

Speaking at a press conference at Bacha Khan Markaz in Peshawar, he said the Afghan refugees’ citizenship was a humanitarian issue as the third generation of Afghans was born and raised in Pakistan.

He expressed displeasure over the reaction of certain elements in Pakistan over the announcement of granting citizenship to Afghan refugees.

The ANP chief said that those who crossed the eastern border were not only granted citizenship in Pakistan but also became rulers of the country.

However, he said Afghan refugees who were the victim of the strategic policies of the great powers and Pakistan were denied this right. “The third generation of the Afghan refugees is living in Pakistan and should be given citizenship,” he argued.

Asfandyar Wali said that citizenship by birth was granted across the world, but either Pakistan had some flaws in its system or a specific ethnic group was against this universal right for Afghan refugees.

He said that most of these Afghans were the children of mujahideen of yesteryears and deserved citizenship.

The ANP president said Pakhtuns were denied national identity cards in other parts of Pakistan when they mention their ethnicity as Afghan. He expressed astonishment as to why some elements in Pakistan react strangely when they come to know that Pakhtuns were Afghans. “We are Pakistani Afghans and should be treated as equal citizens of Pakistan like other ethnic groups,” he demanded.

The ANP leader opposed the construction of Kalabagh dam urging that such controversial issues should not have been discussed at the national forum.

“Kalabagh dam has been rejected by three provincial assemblies but a case was being made to revive this controversial project,” he said, adding such attempts reinforced the claims that Pakistan is Punjab and Punjab is Pakistan.

He said that dams other than Kalabagh should be constructed. “We are ready to face Article 6 but would not allow construction of Kalabagh dam,” he vowed.

Asfandyar Wali said they had always been subjected to the allegation of being traitors. “We take pride in being declared as traitor for serving our people,” he remarked.

He alleged that ignoring the moderate leadership of smaller provinces would have detrimental consequences and the rulers would be responsible for it.

On the issue of relations with neighbours, he said Pakistan was facing isolation as it had poor relations with all its neighbours except China.

The ANP chief said he condemned the statement of the Indian army chief but Prime Minister Imran Khan too should be criticized for issuing a reckless statement.

He said Pakistan should allow Afghan transit trade through Pakistan, improve trade relations with Afghanistan and relax visas.

Asfandyar Wali claimed that ‘Kaptaan’ backtracked on his statements and advised him to take clearance from relevant quarters before making any statement.

He criticised the law-enforcement agencies, alleging that they had made a mockery of the law. “They should not inform us about making security arrangements for ourselves but should provide us foolproof security,” he added.

The ANP chief said the threat alert issued before the election had his and Ameer Haider Hoti’s name as a possible target but instead Haroon Bilour was martyred.

He said the threat alert issued to ANP leader Mian Iftikhar Hussain could also be a diversion and they may target anyone else in the party.

Replying to a question about the army’s role in the election, he said, “I was waiting for this question.” “I request the army chief to refrain from making the army more controversial as enough damage has been done in the recent general election,” he said.

He said the results of the general election were withheld for almost 28 hours on purpose. He said his party believed the results were withheld to know whether Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) got a majority in Punjab or not. “The deficit was balanced in Peshawar valley when they realised that PTI could not get a majority in Punjab,” he argued.