My last visit to the Pak – Afghan border at Torkham confronted me with an incident. Something that made chill run down my spin. A hapless father placed his two- and – a – half year sick child into my feet, begging to be allowed entry into Pakistan, that I realised that a humanitarian crisis of indescribable magnitude is already triggered that took the world not only unprepared but by absolute surprise.
It was Professor Dr. Kiwan Malazai, who added further to my worry, when he told me how an educated young Afghan couple languished homeless on the streets of Peshawar, till he requested a friend, to provide them temporary shelter in a hospital room, at the risk of their health.
The tragedy does not end here their old ill mother is separated from them spending miserable life in the harsh winter of Kabul for which a group of another Pakistani social workers, who on their own visited Afghanistan, were requested to extend her financial support to sustain her on temporary basis, if at all she survives the harshness of the winter if not the trauma and the pain of separation from her children.
The NATO’s abrupt withdrawal from Afghanistan has serious repercussions for the rest of the world, who are left to deal with the after effects of the vacuum that is created and further compounded by the economic emborgo of Afghanistan .
Resultantly, the world today is at much more security risk then it was before and after 9/11 attacks, with the exodus of refugees spreading like army of ants across the globe especially Europe. Ironically, these refugees are exploited by not only human smugglers but Narcotics Smugglers and shady terrorist groups in an environment where anyone with money has free accessibility to the latest state – of – the- art arsenals of the NATO forces.
Lost in these thoughts of how sometimes the most powerful states create mess that they can not clear but then a small state with its will and limited resources manages to handle, when I received a call from Honorable Arham Haq, my nephew in Switzerland, who is presently helping the Swiss Government, cope with the refugee crisis. Being an Afghan and a one time refugee , he could understand the feelings and trauma that accompany a fellow refugee who has to leave everything to survive in an alien country and culture.
As we began to seriously pondered over the ways and means how to avert the catastrophe that is flashed in the newspapers around the world.
It was Arham Haq, who came up with the idea to set up Swiss Government Managed Emergency Transit Camps in Pakistan, especially at the close proximity of the Pak – Afghan borders both at KPK and Balouchistan will help ease the sufferings of the refugees and burden of Pakistan.
He also shared this image of his interview in the Swiss paper that I reproduce, showing the Afghan Refugee Crisis. There is a proposal of a delegation level visit of the Swiss Government Pakistan to discuss the possibility for setting up such “Emergency Refugees Transit Camps”,
The Emergency Afghan Refugees camps, if sponsored by the Swiss Government with support of the Government of Pakistan will primarily aim at screening the Afghan Refugess on their arrival to ascertain veracity of their claim of a “refugee status”, before their settlement and rehabilitation that will greatly mitigate their sufferings and help Pakistan with their security concerns of infiltration of terrorists under the refugees cover .
The location of such Emergency Refugees Transit Facilities, if set up, would be ideally both in KPK and Balouchistan, with the active support of the Government of Pakistan and Pakistan Army to cope with the new wave of exodus of Afghan refugees close to their exit points denying their exploitation by human traffickers.
I personally believe the idea to be workable as the states around – the- world better immediately come together and help Pakistan in turn to extend its humanitarian support to Afghanistan that would help prevent return of the non- stage – actors. once again taking over the stage and this way timely deny them the opportunity to pose the world with greater security risk due to the already tremendous increase of arms and drugs smuggling from across the border that ultimately will prove to be the lifeline of criminals and anti – state elements.