PESHAWAR/NOWSHERA: The United Nations refugee chief on Thursday urged Pakistanis not to blame Afghan refugees for terrorism in their country, amid growing public calls for their deportation and worsening relations between the two neighbours.
Warning that the roughly 2.5 million Afghan refugees in Pakistan risked becoming a ‘forgotten’ crisis, UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi called on the international community to invest more funds to help them. “My appeal is that, not only to the authorities but also to the local population:refugees as you know are not terrorists,” Grandi said during a visit to a repatriation centre outside Peshawar.
Grandi said he had made the case for extending the June 30 deadline to the government in talks during his two-day visit to Pakistan. He also stressed the need for the international community to fund efforts to support Afghan refugees. “I have come here to the region on the week of World Refugee Day to highlight that Afghan refugees should not be forgotten,” he said.
During his address to the inauguration ceremony of a girls school in Nowshera, he again urged the international community to invest more in youth empowerment and education as the current emergencies had increased global concerns regarding additional risks being faced by those children who did not have access to education opportunities. He assured that UNCHR was committed to support governments globally for ensuring inclusive and equitable education for all.
