Pakistan says it is unable to provide asylum to more Afghan migrants

Pakistan stated that it lacks the capacity to provide asylum to more Afghan refugees because the country has hosted more than 3 million Afghan refugees in the past few decades and cannot accept more now.

Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Shah Mahmoud Qureshi met with German Foreign Minister Heiko Mas in Islamabad on Tuesday to discuss the latest refugee crisis as Europe is trying to find a way to house thousands of people now fleeing Afghanistan. .

Human rights groups criticized European efforts to get immigrants as close as possible to Afghanistan.

Amnesty International said in a letter, European Union And their countries “must avoid extremely destructive reactions that emphasize maintaining IBorders are “protected” and propose or take measures to transfer the responsibility of protecting refugees to a third country. “

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The EU Justice Minister and the Interior Minister pledged on Tuesday to support Afghanistan’s neighbours to help them accommodate those fleeing new immigrants Taliban And to prevent a new wave of immigrants from going to Europe.

In their closing statement after the Brussels meeting, the ministers stated that the EU and its 27 countries are “determined to take action together, through preparations for coordinated and orderly response measures, to take action together to prevent the uncontrolled large-scale illegal migration flows they have faced in the past. Happen again.” “

European Commissioner for the Interior, Ilva Johnson, said that so far, Afghans have not fled this war-torn country in large numbers, but insisted that there is a huge risk of a humanitarian crisis. “If the Taliban and ours are the same Taliban, see pass.”

Johnson added that the European Union is “a long way from recognizing the Taliban regime.”

The EU stated that after the Taliban regained power, it would only cooperate with the Afghan government if it respects basic rights and opposes terrorist organizations’ use of Afghan land.

“We haven’t seen any answers to the important conditions that need to be met,” Johnson said, adding that the EU has frozen development aid to Afghanistan to put pressure on the Taliban.

The meeting was held on the second day after the last group of US troops flew out of Kabul International Airport and ended the longest war in the United States. Johnson said that all EU staff and Afghans working for European institutions have now been evacuated.

The ministers stated that the EU should increase its support to Afghanistan’s neighboring countries “to ensure that those in need are adequately protected, mainly in the region.”

The plan is reminiscent of the agreement reached between the EU and Turkey after more than 1 million immigrants entered the EU in 2015, many of which were to flee the conflict in Syria and Iraq. In order to persuade Turkey to prevent people from leaving its territory, the 27-nation group provided the country with 6 billion euros to help Syrian refugees.

However, Johnson said that “copy and paste” the Turkish refugee agreement is not a good idea, and support for Afghanistan’s neighbors should be tailored. She insisted that the EU should start work quickly, rather than “wait until someone comes.”

“We need to fully cooperate with Afghans in Afghanistan and neighboring countries in the region,” she said. “The best way to prevent an immigration crisis is to prevent a humanitarian crisis.”

Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz made it clear that his country will not support the system of distributing Afghan refugees to the entire European Union. He told reporters in Berlin that since 2015, Austria has received “over-proportional” immigrants.

Before meeting with the German Chancellor, he stated that Austria already has the fourth largest Afghan community in the world Angela Merkel.

Merkel said that for Germany, the focus now is how to help 10,000 to 40,000 Afghans who have the right to come to Germany with their families because they have worked for the German army or aid organizations.

“We need to see how many people really want to leave this country, and how many people don’t,” she said. “It largely depends on the environment created by the Taliban.”

Johnson plans to hold a meeting next month to discuss resettlement work.

The EU ministers also emphasized the need to ensure that Afghanistan does not become a safe haven for terrorists again.

Their statement said: “The EU will use all its available tools to closely monitor and respond to developments on the ground that may affect its security, especially in the areas of organized crime and terrorism.”

Nevertheless, it will be difficult to accommodate Afghans in a country close to their home country.

Amnesty International stated that the European Union should allow Afghans arriving in Europe to “enter the territory and receive a fair and effective asylum procedure” and, given the risks they face in Afghanistan, treat all Afghan women and girls as “appearance refugees”.

According to the White House, after the Taliban regained control of the country, American troops helped evacuate more than 120,000 American citizens, foreigners, and Afghans. The coalition forces also evacuated their citizens and Afghans. But both foreign countries and the US government admit that they did not evacuate everyone who wanted to go.

According to some EU estimates, approximately 570,000 Afghans have applied for asylum in Europe since 2015.