Pakistan Denies Ethnic Discrimination Against Afghan Refugees
ISLAMABAD (AFP) - Pakistan on Monday denied ethnic discrimination against refugees from Afghanistan's non-Pashtun minorities following the closure of its border to asylum seekers.
Several ethnic Uzbek, Hazara and Tajik people trying to cross into Pakistan on the weekend complained that Pakistani border guards were discriminating against them by accepting only Pashtun-speakers as refugees.
"This is wrong, we have never discriminated among ethnic groups of refugees," foreign office spokesperson Riaz Mohammad Khan told a press briefing.
He said the situation in Afghanistan had been aggravated by war and the worst drought in 30 years, but Pakistan could not afford another influx of refugees.
"Pakistan already has close to two million Afghan refugees, which is an enormous burden on its economy and resources," Khan said.
"As international assistance for the refugees has been on the decline this is a very serious problem for us and we would not like to see our burden further increase."
He said Pakistan had been "very generous" since Afghans started arriving in 1978 before the Soviet invasion of their country a year later.
"We did not build any barbed wire camps for refugees. We did not find it morally acceptable to take such steps."
Pakistan "is however concerned about this new influx," Khan said, referring to the 30,000 refugees who have crossed the border since September. He urged the international community to do more for Afghanistan.
Earlier this month Pakistan closed its border to refugees but started allowing some to enter in recent days amid chaotic scenes at certain checkpoints.
Ethnic Pashtuns are the main force behind the ruling Taliban militia in Afghanistan and form a large ethnic minority in Pakistan.
