Sindhi leader urges global support for repatriation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan

Berlin, Oct 23 (IANS) Shafi Burfat, Chairman of the Jeay Sindh Muttahida Mahaz (JSMM), has called on the global community to ensure responsible repatriation and rehabilitation of Afghan refugees from Pakistan's Sindh province to Afghanistan with international support.

Burfat claimed that the mass influx of Afghan refugees, while rooted in a humanitarian crisis, created legitimate "demographic and political concerns" for the Sindh province.

“Sindh, already colonised within the artificial and militarised structure of Pakistan, has long suffered from political oppression, economic exploitation, and the denial of its national rights by the Punjabi-imperialist-dominated establishment. The settlement of Afghan refugees was not merely a humanitarian measure; it was a deliberate state policy to alter Sindh's demographic structure and weaken the political position of the indigenous Sindhi nation,” the JSMM leader posted on X.

Burfat asserted that despite prevailing concerns, the Sindhi people did not oppose the arrival of Afghan refugees. Out of humanitarian sympathy and in recognition of the tragic circumstances of war and displacement, he said, Sindh tolerated their presence with the expectation that refugees would be distributed equitably across Pakistan, particularly in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, where the Pashtun and Afghan communities share common linguistic, ethnic, and cultural ties.

However, he noted that, contrary to this expectation, the Pakistani authorities deliberately avoided settling Afghans in Punjab province and instead resettled approximately 80 per cent of Afghan refugees in Sindh, especially in Karachi. The JSMM leader described this as a strategic move aimed at undermining Sindh’s demographic balance, deepening the process of “colonisation”, and further suppressing the province politically, socially, and economically.

“We make it clear that the Sindhi nation has no hostility toward Afghan families. Our concerns are rooted in the structural oppression we face under Pakistani occupation and in the demographic engineering policies used against us. We fully support an orderly, dignified, and internationally supported repatriation that benefits both Afghan families and the Sindhi nation,” Burfat emphasised

“Furthermore, we recognise that Afghan children born and raised in Sindh, who have learned the Sindhi language and integrated culturally, will be respected and granted Sindhudesh nationality after the liberation of Sindh, as a gesture of human solidarity and shared history,” he added.

The Sindhi leader urged the NATO leadership, the United Nations, and allied governments to fulfill their moral and political obligations by supporting the repatriation process of the Afghan refugees.

“Doing so will strengthen Afghan sovereignty, improve international relations, and address the legitimate demographic concerns of the Sindhi nation, a nation that continues to live under colonial subjugation and political marginalisation within Pakistan. We appeal to you to act with responsibility, justice, and respect for the rights of all nations and peoples,” he stressed.

--IANS

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