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IEA says Pakistan has still not agreed to meeting over refugees

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With eight days left until Pakistan's deadline for all undocumented Afghan refugees to leave the country, the Islamic Emirate says Islamabad has not yet agreed to meet with IEA officials in the presence of the United Nations.

The Ministry of Immigrants and Returnees Affairs of the Islamic Emirate published a newsletter on Sunday and said that Abdul Rahman Rashid, Deputy Professional of the Ministry, met with Leonard Zulu, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees in Afghanistan, about the forced deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan.

"Because the Pakistani side did not agree to the tripartite meeting - Afghanistan, Pakistan and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees - in that country, the ministry decided to hold the aforementioned meeting in Kabul and the issue will be discussed through the ministry. The foreign affairs ministry of the Islamic Emirate, the partner and United Nations commissioner, should also be included,” said the ministry.

Quoting Zulu, the IEA said in its newsletter that Pakistan needs to announce its decision on whether it will hold this meeting or not.

At the beginning of this month, Islamabad gave a deadline to all undocumented immigrants to leave Pakistan by November 1 or face arrest and deportation. This affects over 1.3 million Afghans.

Calls have been made by organizations in Pakistan, by the UN and other countries for Pakistan to overturn its decision.

Meanwhile, last Thursday, the US State Department asked all of Afghanistan's neighbors, including Pakistan, to allow Afghans seeking safety to enter their territories.

Matthew Miller, the spokesman of the US State Department, said in a news conference: "I want to say that we ask all countries, including Pakistan, to comply with their obligations in dealing with migrants and asylum seekers and to respect the principles of prohibition of forced return."

Officials of the Islamic Emirate have also asked Pakistan to reconsider its decision to deport Afghan refugees.

The government of Pakistan has also in recent days accelerated the detention of Afghan refugees in several major cities, including Islamabad.

According to Pakistani media, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Police destroyed dozens of shops in a former market run by Afghan immigrants in Peshawar Bord area on Sunday - without any warning. Before this, Islamabad police destroyed a number of houses of Afghan immigrants in Morgul area.

As the deadline for the deportation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan approaches, the Islamic Emirate has established a camp for the short-term stay of deported refugees near Torkham port in Nangarhar province. This camp can hold 500 people.

The local authorities of the Islamic Emirate say that food, transportation and health services will be provided during the temporary stay of the returning migrants in the camp.

According to officials, as of Friday (October 20), approximately 52,000 Afghans, including women and children, have returned to their homeland.

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Human traffickers should be sentenced to 1 to 3 years in prison: IEA leader

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The Leader of the Islamic Emirate has issued a decree instructing the Ministry of Interior Affairs to prevent human trafficking and to arrest and refer culprits to military courts.

The decree containing six articles says that that military courts should sentence human traffickers to one year in prison for the first time, two years if repeated for the second time and three years if repeated for the third time.

The ministries of Hajj, information, telecommunications, borders, propagation of virtue, as well as religious scholars are asked to inform the public about the dangers and adverse consequences of travelling through smuggling routes.

The decree comes as the rate of migration has increased following the political change in Afghanistan in 2021.

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Eight Afghan migrants die as boat capsizes off Greek island

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Eight Afghan migrants died after a speedboat carrying migrants capsized off Greece's eastern island of Rhodes on Friday, the Associated Press reported.

Greek authorities said that the capsizing was the result of the boat’s maneuvering to evade a patrol vessel.

A total of 18 migrants — 12 men, three women and three minors — all Afghan nationals, were rescued, Greece's coast guard said Saturday. The dead were also from Afghanistan, it said.

Some migrants remained hospitalized, with one in critical condition, authorities said.

Two Turkish citizens, ages 23 and 19, were arrested as the suspected traffickers. The boat sank after capsizing, the coast guard said.

The sinking off Rhodes was the second deadly incident involving migrants in the past week.

Seven migrants were killed and dozens were believed missing after a boat partially sank south of the island of Crete over the weekend — one of four rescue operations during which more than 200 migrants were rescued.

 

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Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires meets with IEA deputy foreign minister

Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

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The Norwegian Chargé d’Affaires for Afghanistan, Per Albert Ilsaas, on Saturday met with IEA’s Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs, Sher Muhammad Abbas Stanikzai, in Kabul.

Welcoming the diplomat’s visit to Kabul, Stanikzai underscored the importance of political relations between Afghanistan and Norway, the foreign ministry said in a statement.

In addition to focusing on bilateral political, humanitarian, and other pertinent issues, the two sides expressed hope that continued engagement would lead to constructive solutions to related issues.

This comes two weeks after the Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abdul Qahar Balkhi expressed disappointment regarding the decision by the Norwegian government to downgrade diplomatic relations with Afghanistan.

Balkhi said in a post on X that such decisions should not be linked with internal affairs of other countries.

“Diplomatic engagement is most effective when it fosters mutual understanding and respect, even amidst differing viewpoints,” he stated.

“Access to consular services is a fundamental right of all nationals. We strongly urge all parties to prioritize this principle in the spirit of international cooperation,” he added.

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